Bad Wolf
by Elementess
Summary: A fatal decision leaves Gloria Wulfe with a new lease on life, but with her beastly desires threatening to take over, she may need the help of a very old friend in order to save herself and others from her own destructive nature.
1. Home

**A/N: Hello, readers, and welcome to my new story! I've been in love with the character that is Jack Frost for a while now and decided to do a little contribution of my own to the fandom. My last ROTG story was a bit short and lacking in any, well, romance, so I decided to do something about that with my new story idea! I hope that you do like my take on a certain fairy tale character, which I would have you perhaps try and guess the identity of on your own! Thank you and enjoy!**

**By the way, this first chapter was inspired by a song called "_Going Home_", by Radical Face. I would recommend it for not only how lovely it sounds but also to help get a feel for this chapter and the next. It may even be the overall theme song for the tale for now. Now, on to reading!**

* * *

On a summer's day, in the midst of a field of gold, a girl watched as plumes of white drifted lazily by in a sea of blue called the sky. With her hair tangled up in the blades swaying around her in the wind, and her earth colored eyes mostly glazed over, she looked every bit as peaceful as she felt. The air was warm, but a light breeze danced along her skin, and the grass was soft underneath her body, and nothing could be heard save for the rippling of the grass around her. Everything felt perfect, and as she day dreamed of faraway places and a boy with brown eyes and a boyish smile, the girl was more than tempted to fall asleep right then and there.

Still, reality was persistent, and as this girl finally began to close her eyes, she heard the sound of a bark and the call of her name from nearby. The girl sighed, her eyes blinking open as she recognized the sure sound of her younger brother looking for her for the umpteenth time that day. From the moment that she would wake to the second that she would curl up in the plush folds of her woolen blankets, her younger brother of ten years would constantly find time to badger his older sister into some sort of game or chore. After chores had been done for the morning and the afternoon, and he had returned from school, it was amazing when she would ever find time to herself, and just herself. A part of her wanted to close her eyes again and ignore his calls, as perhaps he would just run right past her or even turn around and run to her mother instead, but a different side of her gave in, and she felt herself sitting up slowly before she could even stop herself.

Gloria stood erect in the tall grass, raising her arms above her head and giving out a world-weary yawn. After drawing one hand across her face and through her hair, she looked about and caught the sight of a small figure running excitedly through the grass, his face splitting into a grin as he recognized his one and only favorite sister.

"G-Gloria," the boy called out, his voice stuttering as he began running out of breath. In the grass she spotted a familiar flash of gray fur, and before long her little brother was running up to meet her, gasping for air and tripping over his words as his ever loyal best friend danced around him and came up to meet his mistress. Gloria bent down and drew a hand through the sleek fur around Char's ears and was greeted with a wet kiss on the hand.

"Gloria, we've been looking for you!" Jacob gasped, not bothering to take to time to really catch his breath properly, and causing his sister to look at him in a chastising manner.

"What is it this time," she asked. "Did you a find stone in the fields on the way home?"

Her brother shook his head wildly, but then stopped himself, "Well, yes! It was all speckled with black and brown and it was gray and pretty but Mum wanted me to come find you but it took so long and-!" "Jacob!" Gloria threw up her hands, interrupting her brother's crazy rambling, "What did Mum want?" She began to take a few steps forward, heading in the general direction of home but taking her time. Her brother saw her leaving and hurried to catch up, taking two quick steps for her every one. Char followed for a few seconds before hurrying ahead, off to chase any wayward grasshoppers, Gloria guessed silently to herself. As she watched the canine dart along the grass playfully, she had to remind herself for the thousandth time in her life that he was still a wolf, if only a domesticated one. Jacob's voice brought her back from her thoughts as he was midway through an explanation. "—into town to buy some apples from Mrs. Hemingway!" Jacob finished, failing to notice that his sister had not entirely been paying attention. Gloria looked down at him at the mention of the woman's name and raised an eye brow.

"That old bat?" She mostly spoke to herself, "It's a wonder that Mum still buys fruit from her."

Jacob smiled brightly; delighted at his sister's usual distaste of the woman that worked her own fruit stall in the bazaar in town. '"That's why she always sends you, Glo! As long as she never has to talk to her, she can keep buying sweet apples and making pie for my class!" He looked up at her fondly as he trailed his hands along the grass around him.

Gloria snorted in a way that her mother would have said was "very unladylike" and rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "I have half a mind to snap at the old bat, myself."

"But you won't."

Gloria looked down at her brother, curious, "And what makes you say that?"

He grinned cheekily, the last bits of baby fat that his features still held making him look all the more earnest, "Because you're too nice."

Gloria let her eyes fall back on the horizon and let out a puff of breath in amusement at this, "Yeah," she said. "You're right." She felt her brother reach up with his left hand and grab her own slim palm to hold, a tuneless song coming to his mind as he hummed along with the bugs and the wind. Gloria wished that she could go back and lay in the sun for a few more hours, perhaps even until night fall, but the feel of her little brother's hand in her own and the sight of their little cottage coming up over the grass made her think differently. The girl could find peace in the sky, in the grass, and in the day dreams that swam through her mind, but she could also find that same peace in the familial warmth those closest to her heart and mind. She had plenty of time to sleep later, when her trip was over with and her mother and had filled her to the brim with sweets, soup and a story.

Ever since Gloria could remember it had mostly only been her brother, her mother, herself and Char in her little family. They lived in a broad field on the outskirts of the modest and blossoming town of Burgess, in a small cottage made of stone, wood and straw. The house had only two rooms, with the main room that held a loft with her and her brother's beds, their small kitchen, and a sitting area with a fireplace, and another room that their mother had made into her own. They had a little outhouse nearby, but baths were always taken in an over sized wooden bath either outside or in. As Gloria and her brother approached the homestead, the grass grew shorter and she could see a little path that wound around the house, and the short stone wall that her mother's garden resided in, adjacent to the right side of the house. The front door was wide open, as were all of the windows, and the smell of fresh baked bread wafted out from one in particular. From inside she could see some movement and guessed that her mother must have been busy in the kitchen.

Jacob hurried up to the door and darted inside, calling out to their mother to tell her of his success in finding her only daughter. Gloria followed after, her eyes sweeping around the main room. Her gaze landed on the image of her mother hanging up a small bushel of lavender above the stone fireplace. As Gloria stepped across the wooden floor, the woman turned around and brushed her hands on her old apron, the same warm smile and brown eyes that she shared with her daughter holding welcome and at the same time a glint of authority. "Gloriana, where have you been?" The older woman stepped forward and greeted her daughter with a hug: something that she was sure to do every time one of her children left and came home again.

Gloria returned the hug, "Nowhere, just out in the fields, again." Her mother shook her head as she pulled away, stepping down into the kitchen area of the room as she spoke.

"Day dreaming again, just like your father always would on a day like this." Gloria felt herself frown and she looked over to her brother, seeing him sitting in one of their only chairs. He was swinging his legs and chewing on a bite of their last apple, and shrugged good-naturedly when she gave him an exasperated look. Some of the townsfolk would swear up and down that Gloria looked to be an exact duplicate of her mother, but when it came to her dreamy personality they always referred to their absentee father. It really bugged her sometimes, but she decided not to push the subject and wind up making her mother cross, instead changing the subject entirely as she went to stand next her mother as she washed her hands in a bowl on their stone counter. "Jacob said that you wanted me to go into town."

"Yes, Mrs. Hemingway should have just started selling her sweet apples, and since Jacob has a presentation tomorrow, I thought that I would send him to school with a pie."

Gloria smirked, taking her the straw basket her mother picked up from beside her set out seasonings for the night's supper. "Really, and that has nothing to do with buttering up the teacher in hopes of maybe making Jacob her new favorite student, does it?"

Her mother glanced over her and raised her eye brows, looking indigent, "Never! I simply wanted to be a good mother and make her little boy happy. Is that so bad?"

Gloria laughed silently and turned away after her mother gave her another hug goodbye, making her way over to the door again and looking back to beckon to her brother. He jumped up from his seat with a laugh, hurrying over to their mother for his own squeeze, more than happy by his sister's sudden willingness to let him join her without his asking first.

Before the girl could step beyond the doorway she heard her mother speak aloud one last time, "And if that happens to make the teacher prefer Jacob over Mrs. Hemingway's boy and her custard then so be it!" Gloria laughed aloud with her brother, more then used to her mother's underhanded way of getting what she wanted.

* * *

Burgess was a small town nearby, a ten or so minute walk from their home. As they walked past its wooden homes and bustling streets, several people called out and Gloria waved to the familiar faces. Being so small, the farming town was mainly made up of people that sort of knew everyone and then some. If ever Serah Pond was caught sneaking around with another boy, or if Mr. Smith had a new deal on farming equipment, everyone was sure to know about it whether they liked it or not. Because of this privacy was a luxury that they could rarely find time for, but this simple fact made the town all the more closer for it.

Near the heart of town was the bustling marketplace that Gloria and her little brother were set on, and as they walked around, heading towards Mrs. Hemingway's fruit stall, they were greeted with smiling faces and the cries of merchants selling their goods.

"Gloria! Sweet Gloria! Why don't you try one of my sweet meats, today? Half off for a limited time!" A particular voice rang out, and Gloria found herself smiling and waving away the offer of a man with a salt and pepper mustache and a fatherly grin.

"Not today, Mr. Sadsworth. My mum just wanted some apples today." Mr. Sadsworth waved off her negative with a smile, unperturbed.

"No matter, I know of your taste for meat, just like that wolf of yours! You'll be back soon enough!" She laughed and waved goodbye, knowing good and well that he was probably right. There were few things that she liked more in the world then a plate of cooked ham or a turkey leg.

Soon enough Gloria managed to find what they had been looking for, and with it the face of their mother's least favorite person in town. Mrs. Hemingway was a large woman with a welcoming smile for all of her wondering customers, but as she caught sight of Alice's children her formerly bright gin turned into a displeased frown, "Gloriana, Jacobson, why are you visiting my stall on this fine day?" The way she posed the question almost seemed as though that she was implying that their very presence was ruining the good weather, but Gloria ignored this in favor of a sweet smile in return, although she was cursing on the inside.

"Just picking up some apples for a pie, Mrs. Hemingway," she said politely, holding up her basket for emphasis. The woman nodded, looking somehow doubtful but waving her towards the red fruit near at hand.

"Go ahead then, but be sure to keep track of everyone, Gloriana."

"Yes, Mrs. Hemingway," Gloria nodded as she turned away to some else. She caught the look on her brother's face and nudged him gently as he mocked her, repeating but what she had said in his lame attempt at impersonating her. Jacob looked up at her a beamed, appearing innocent as ever, and starting helping her sister pick out the fruit, insisting on looking over and approving every one that she picked up. As she finished up and handed the bitter old Mrs. Hemingway her payment, she felt Jacob pull on her red, hooded cloak and she looked over to wear he was pointing, curious of the mischievous look on his face.

Through the crowd she looked, trying to find the source of his interest, and suddenly she spotted a familiar face. Gloria's heart seized up at the sight of that boyish grin and those dancing eyes that she could spot even despite the distance between them. Gloria's face snapped back to her brother and she saw the way he was laughing before she looked up again, realizing only then that the boy was walking in their general direction. He was mostly distracted with the small figure by his side, his little sister no less, but the idea of him spotting Gloria at all made her panic and suddenly grab her brother's hand, rushing away from the stall as quickly as she could without giving herself away. Mrs. Hemingway saw them leaving before she could hand them back their small bit of change, but when she called out Gloria waved and said, "Later!"

Her brother was still laughing by the time they had managed to get away from the bazaar, and she let go of his hand, turning on his and sending a frustrated plea, "Why are you laughing? Stop laughing!" Jacob laughed harder to himself, all the more amused by his sister's jumpiness, "No way! You should have seen the look on your face!" He brought his hands to his chest, faking a swoon while still giggling, "Oh, Jack Overland! Your eyes are so lovely-!" Her brother attempted to keep going but failed, instead dissolving into a fit of fresh laughter. Gloria's eyes widened considerably. Had she said something aloud when she had seen Jack? Oh, her brother was never going to stop with this! "It's time to go home!" She said quickly, pushing down her jitteriness and walking away from her brother. Jacob caught her leaving and ran to catch up, jumping around the eighteen year-old's legs and refusing to relent.

Soon after they left town the heavens decided to grant her some mercy and Jacob ran off, distracted with an insect that he had spotted buzzing around. Her thoughts returned to the appearance of Jack in the market and a smile graced her lips. Gloria would never admit it, but that had actually made her day.

Ever since she could remember Gloria had liked the fun loving Overland that she had shared a home town and class with for years. She was more than happy to admit that they had been close friends when they were small, and after Jacob had come into her life, Jack had been one of the people to be more than willing to spend time with the boy even while he was still getting over his stutter after their father had left.

Their father's departure at the young age of only five had left Jacob feeling betrayed and hesitant to pick up any new friends, and for a long while he even refused to speak to her mother. Strangely though, Jacob had kept to whispering to his sister, and after a time began to speak again. Her father's leaving and Jack's own problems had caused Gloria and him to drift apart, but after Jack began insisting on joining Jacob in his fun around town, and thus began helping with his speech, Gloria's old love for the boy blossomed into blatant infatuation. They still didn't speak much, and discovering her own feelings for the boy had made her feel awkward around him, but it was so easy to fall into his easy going way of doing things that she couldn't help but be friendly around him again. Gloria wasn't sure if they were or would ever be anything close to what they had been years before, but there was something there, or, at least, she hoped that there was.

On the way home Gloria mused over this, her frequent thoughts of the boy being simply another normal part of her life.

* * *

That night after a dinner made up of home made bread and chicken noodle soup, the little family sat about their fire place together. Their mother spoke in a hushed tone, telling Jacob the story of the sandman, a man that would flit about in the night and use his sand to lull people in the land of dreams and slumber. Gloria had heard the tale a million times, along with a whole slew of other fairy tales, but as she listened to her mother tell of the little man she wore a soft smile. Curled up in her blanket, she sat near Jacob on the warm stones near the fireplace, while their mother sat in an old rocking chair she had brought from her room. Half of the girl's mind was focused on the story as it was being told, while the other thought over her little family and the life they lived.

Gloria and Jacob were born in the cottage her father had built years ago, the two had been rocked to sleep in their mother's arms in the very same chair she told her tale from, and years of their life could be found throughout the house. On the doorway of their mother's room were tick marks showing their height as they had grown. Books were scattered all about their mother's room, on her shelves, side table, and dresser, a collection that had begun at their mother's childhood and was continuously expanding. On he legs of her bed one could find tooth marks from Char's puppy days, and in their beds one could always find bits off his hair sticking their sheets and blankets. The home always smelt of drying flowers and herbs for tea, and Gloria knew every crack and groan in the floor boards by heart. The little cottage was her home, and really she could never think of leaving it, but really she found it hard for anyone to ever consider the possibility.

Well, all except one person, but in order to keep herself in her good mood she chased away any thought of the man. His reasons were his own, whatever they were. She honestly didn't care.

Gloria heard the sound of shifting weight and noticed her mother rising from her seat. The woman was wrapping her shawl about her shoulders and looking tired. "I'm off to bed then. Be sure as to not stay up to late you two." Their mother said her goodnight and drifted off toward her room, closing it behind her just as Gloria managed a reply.

For several moments the siblings simply sat silently, their eyes lost in the only source of light in the room, the fire itself, but their thoughts else wear. Gloria thought about going to bed before her brother spoke up, his voice coming quite and careful.

"I had a dream about dad last night, Glo."

Gloria blinked, frowning to herself. Jacob had been so young at the time of his leaving, but she supposed that he wasn't quite young enough to not remember the man's face. It had only been three years since then, so his voice, mannerisms, and pretty much everything about him was still fresh in her mind, as much as she would like to hide them away. She even still remembered the day he had left. It had been raining, Jacob had been sleeping, and she was almost wide awake, open eyed in her bed and yet pretending to rest as her father made his quite departure. The man had gone up to their beds and kissed them on the forehead goodbye, leaving the faint smell of gun powder and musk in his wake, before leaving. Long after shutting the front door she had still smelled him, even when she had gone down to her silent mother and begun to prepare a pot of tea as per her oddly emotionless request. They had not spoken much about it, and when Jacob had asked for him their mother had simply said that daddy had left and that she didn't know when he would come back. Jacob rarely brought up the subject of their father around their mother, or at least he had never wondered about his leaving around her, for he learned very quickly that asking such questions would make her quite and withdrawn.

Still, life had been mostly well despite his disappearance. They had sold off the rest of his guns, along with his shop and smithy to someone in town, and they were easy enough to be rid of sense he had been skilled in the art of making one and the last of Fang's models were definite collectibles for those about town. The townsfolk had even helped a bit here and there, and really the only person that had dared speak ill of the man was Mrs. Hemingway herself. Their mother had never liked the woman, but her comment was sort of the last straw. Their father soon became a matter of the past, one mentioned in only a rare comment, so having Jacob suddenly mention the man came as almost a surprise to Gloria.

She didn't reply, prompting him to speak on his own.

"Do you think that he'll ever come back?"

There came a pregnant pause as Gloria thought awkwardly on this. She didn't want to get his hopes up, but she hardly wanted them to crash and burn either! Finally the girl sighed, shaking her head softly, "I don't know. That's up to him, I suppose."

Her brother grew quite once more, his feelings on what she had said being entirely locked away within his own heart.

* * *

An hour later and the two were tucked away in bed, the fire was but a somber glow and Char had found his way onto Jacob's legs in the dark. Gloria lay half awake, in between reality and dreams, but not quite ready to fall into slumber with her brother's question still hanging heavily on her mind. Knowing that insomnia would get her nowhere, she instead brought up the image of a certain boy and smiled to herself. Jack Overland had a way of making her feel better, even when she was far from seeing his laughing face and playful smirk. As she finally drifted off, she promised herself in her vulnerable state of mind that the next time she saw him, she would finally find the courage to ask him to hang out with her and her alone, just like when they were children, years ago.

* * *

Gloria fell asleep, and a few hours would pass before she would wake to the ominous sound of voices, and Char growling in the dark.

* * *

**A/N: A hint of human!Jack Frost, plenty of family fuzzies, and a bit of suspense in the end to wrap it all up, who could ask for more? Be sure to check in every now and then for an update, which at the latest will hopefully be a full week after this chapter. Please leave any helpful comments in the review section, and be sure to as to grab a cookie on the way out the door. See you next time!**


	2. Danger in the Night

**A/N: Hello, all. This chapter is considerably smaller then the last, but will wrap up past events. While typing it, I listened to "_This Will Destroy You_", by Quite, and "_November_", by Max Richter. I would recommend them both to get a feel for the tale.**

* * *

Gloria sat up slowly in her bed, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room and taking in everything around her. Char was rumbling at the foot of Jacob's bed, and as Gloria uncovered herself and set her feet on the wooden floor, she followed his gaze to see that it was firmly locked on the front door of the house. Any other person would suspect that there was surely another animal roaming about outside, stealing away the wolf's attention and awakening his need to protect and feed, but the girl knew better. Char had grown out of that stage long ago, when he was only a puppy in fact. If there was anything in the world that provoked his growling, it was something that threatened his family. Gloria placed her hand on his back, checking to see if Jacob was stirring as she did so, and calmed the wolf quietly. His growling ceased but his attention was still unwavering.

Gloria moved across the landing and over to the latter that led to the bottom floor, taking her cloak up from her bed and swinging it over her shoulders, and a sound coming from her mother's bedroom as she did so. The woman was opening her door, holding a lit candle and her robe tight at her chest. Gloria had reason to guess that she had seen something from her bedroom window, that or she had somehow managed to hear Char's growling even from the other room. Alice's eyes met her daughters once she hit the ground level, and she motioned her to stay a distance away, by the ladder, before she moved to the front door and took up the bit of wood that was suspended across the doorway. Placing it aside and giving her daughter one last look, she opened the door softly and peered out. A few seconds passed and Gloria nearly dared to speak in order to ask her if she saw anything, but before she could the woman spoke up herself.

"Keep the door closed. Do not come out for any reason," this order came firm, an edge creeping about her voice but at the same time a hint of worry. Gloria was prepared to ask why before her mother slipped outside, taking the candle with her and closing the door behind her. Gloria waited for what seemed like an eternity, restraining herself as best as she could from darting outside and after her. Instead she stepped carefully towards the door, placing her hands and ear against the wood before simply listening. She wouldn't risk peering out the kitchen window in case someone saw her, whoever that someone was, so the thick inch or so of wood would have to do. She heard nothing at first save for her own breathing, but then she picked up the hum of speech. It was almost impossible to understand, but there was some urgency behind it. What was going on? Who was there? Gloria glanced towards the door handle, her fingers curling and his palms itching, but her mother's order stayed clear in her mind.

Just as soon as it did, she heard a shouting, and her eyes widened in surprise. Mother? Gloria removed her ear immediately, and the sound grew louder. Another voice joined with it, and she heard a shuffling of feet near the door. Her eyes landed on the wooden beam nearby and she took it up with both hands, slamming it down on its iron restraints nailed to each side of the doorway and effectively barring anyone from entry. As soon as she did so the door dared to move, but couldn't open and she stepped back towards the ladder as the door began to shake even more. There came more yelling fear shot through her spine.

Who were these people? What did they want?

"Glo...?"

Jacob!

Gloria's eyes darted up the ladder and she saw her brother standing there, rubbing his eyes and looking confused, "What's going on?"

Her mind froze up for a moment, looking for answers where there were none, "I don't know. Come here!" Jacob dropped his arm and furrowed his brow. His eyes flew open as the door shook once more, and fear spread across his face.

"Glo!" He cried out, obviously scared.

"Come down!" The boy immediately complied, and he hurried down the ladder, his sister's arms finding him before he could reach the arm, and she scooped him up. Gloria heard a freighting sound, the sound of wood cracking, and her brother yelped against her shoulder, holding her tighter than ever. Gloria moved around the ladder and under the landing of their room, only one goal in mind: her brother's safety.

"Let go, Jacob," she commanded, and he let go, shaking like a leaf as she placed him on the ground before a small bookcase. Gloria moved the furniture aside and there behind it was the welcoming sight of a small door set in the wooden wall. Dropping to her knees, she managed to get it open with a curse and a pull, dust coming out as she held the door and peered inside for a few precious seconds. It was dark, it was small, but it was the best thing they had. Gloria looked up to her brother and motioned him inside, pulling at his shoulder. His small hands found her red cloak, and he drew his fingers into little fists.

"No! No, Glo! What about Mummy?" He sobbed, tears finding their way down his face. Gloria ran a hand through his short brown hair and looked into his eyes, trying to look strong when she knew that it was pointless, when her heart screamed in her chest and the banging grew ever louder.

"She'll be okay, we'll all be okay. But you have to hide; you can't let them find you, no matter what!"

"Glo!" He held her sister close and she wound her arms around him, feeling his heart flutter against her chest, and then she let go, pushing him into the hole in the wall and into the darkness. He watched her, moving aside and expecting her to fit her way inside. Yet anyone could see that it was made for someone much smaller then herself, and there was no way that she could hide herself at that point. They had to be expecting someone to be beyond the door, someone that had taken the time to keep them from coming in.

"I love you," Gloria whispered, and closed the door shut, effectively cutting off her brother's sudden cries. The girl jumped to her feet and began to move the little book case in front of the door, hiding it from view and making her brother silent still. As she did so the last of the wood gave away, and she moved from the bookcase as the door slammed inwards, revealing a hulking figure in the shadows. This man's angry eyes landed on her and she froze, like a deer looking down the barrel of a hunter's gun, and stopped breathing. His long legs made it across the floor in less than a second and his rough hands clamped down on her arm, jerking her towards him. Gloria yelped at the pain, "Stop!" She cried out, but it fell on deaf ears, and he pulled her towards the door and called outside.

"There's a girl!" Gloria heard the sound of other people, several other people, and she was pulled outside mercilessly. She attempted to pull off her captor's hold, knowing it was useless, and it tightened in response, causing something under her skin to cry out in agony. She screamed, fearing that her arm was breaking beneath his hold.

"Shut up!" Spittle flew from the man's mouth and she looked up. His face was contorted into rage, a face that she had never seen in her entire life and she would never want to see again afterwards. Her cries subsided into whimpers, and she was tossed to the side, landing on the ground and bruising her tail bone in the process. She caught herself with her other arm and drew her hurt one close to her chest, looking about for her mother.

There were five other strangers there, large men thick with muscle holding torches, looking serious and unforgiving. Gloria's mouth opened, ready to ask aloud for her mother when she noticed the form on the ground, nearby herself. Quickly she sat up in a crouch and hurried over towards it, not caring that one of the men had noticed her and were coming close. Her focus was set on her mother, whose face was turned away as she lay on her side. Gloria reached for her and saw something in the firelight, a glimpse of crimson on the grass. She laid her hand on her mother's shoulder, ignoring the screams of protest that came from her other arm as she moved her over.

"Mother...?" Gloria whispered, looking into her face. Another sort of misery tore its way through her as she saw the dullness there in her mother's once warm gaze, and a cry sounded from her lips. Her mother-hermotherwas-!

"Shut it!" A hand wrapped around her shoulder and she was torn from her mother's body ruthlessly. She cried out, grabbing the air and pleading for him to let her go. The man ignored her, throwing her to the ground a good distance away from where she had been. Her head hit the ground hard and she saw stars, a pain lancing through her skull and effectively cutting off her voice. Her vision blurred and she fought to get a hold of herself for a few desperate seconds, yelling at herself silently to not fall asleep. An image of her brother looking frightened and alone came to mind and that was all it took for her to shake away the haze and lift herself up. There was a cry and she saw a familiar gray streak come running out of the house, barking furiously. A few of the men had disappeared inside, and one of them came out holding a bleeding arm and cursing at the air. Char ran up towards Gloria, his snarling intensifying as he dared the man and his cohorts to come any closer towards her. She felt grateful for his presence and whispered her thanks to him, although her heart still thundered in her chest and her eyes pooled with tears. The man watched the wolf closely but was smart enough to stay near the house. Things were thrown from the house and onto the ground from inside, and she could hear the inside being torn asunder as they looked around for who knows what. She wished fearfully that they wouldn't find her little brother's hiding spot, as the very last thing she wanted to see burned into her mind was the sight of his small form lying broken on the ground...

Her head shook as she attempted to be rid of the image altogether, but this didn't stop her stomach from rolling in nausea.

"No one's here!" A voice called out from within. Relief filled her at the first good thing that she had heard since awakening, and a smile automatically appeared on her face. The men came walking out from inside, and the same one that had broken her arm headed towards her. Char barked at his approached and he stopped, but spoke aloud.

"Where is he? Where is your damned father?" He questioned, and she trembled at the anger in his voice. Her eyebrows flew up and confusion filled her as she finally processed what he was saying, what he was demanding.

"G-gone. Three years." The voice that came from her was unrecognizable, sounding weak and so very afraid. She didn't know what else to say, as there were no excuses she could possibly make for his absence.

The man spat at the ground and turned, his head jerking towards her little home. The men began to step back towards her home, their torches raised high, and realization dawned on her then: they were going to burn her home. They were going to burn her brother!

"No! NO!" Gloria screamed. The girl tried to rise to her feet, she tried to push her way past her wolf and towards the man, pressing against the canine's body and reaching out. The man looked back towards her and raised his arm, which had been hanging by his side and held something that she had failed to take note of before.

A shot rang out into the night.

An eternity passed, and then another. Warmth spread across her rib cage, and Gloria's beloved wolf collapsed beside her.

Gloria crumpled to the ground, the side of her face hitting the earth and a silent cry gracing her lips. She couldn't breathe, and she couldn't speak. She could only feel the pain in her chest and look onward towards the cottage, unmoving and helpless.

Her home was burning, fire licking the night sky and smoke billowing from the windows and the door.

The light in her brown eyes began to fade, and she watched on silently as everything she held dear turned to ash.

The last thing Gloria felt was the suffocating warmth of the fire pressing against her skin as everything began to dim, until darkness a fell on her mind.

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**A/N: Thus ends this chapter. By reading the lyrics for "_Going Home_", by Radical Face, you will find why it felt so much like the overall theme for these first two chapters. Jack will more then likely appear in the next chapter, so please return! **


	3. Sophie's New Friend

**A/N: Hi, guys! This chapter isn't that long, but it features a certain someone that wee all know and love! For the chapter I started out with "_Incompreso__," _by Delord, and then I moved onto "_Caliban's Dream_," by Underworld. **

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Hundreds of years later, deep within the heart of a very old forest, the gentle sound of sobbing could be heard echoing throughout the trees. As the cool winds of spring shifted and moved throughout the wood, the breeze jostled the wild blonde hair of a certain little girl. As she sat on the ground, her knees held up to her chest and her little fists pressed to her eyes, she cried pitifully. Although the girl had lived near the forest her entire life, and it was the middle of the day, she had never wondered off on her own without her older brother, parents, or friends, and at the moment she felt so very lost and alone. The animals of the forest stayed away, fearing the mannerisms of man and savoring the shelter of their homes in the tree limbs above, and the barrows a nice distance away. Because of this, the girl had no one to call out to, and no amount of crying for anyone would help, as she was already very well aware with her sore throat. Hours could have passed since her disappearance, or perhaps even mere minutes, so she had no way of knowing if she was being sought after. All she could do was wait, and that made her sob all the more.

A name came to the child's mind and she opened her mouth, calling out the name of one of the people she trusted most in the entire world: "_Jack_!"

A few seconds passed, and then suddenly there came a sound. The girl kept crying, unable to hear the sound of crunching leaves or the brushed aside limbs of the brush until the source of the sounds drew close. A shadow fell across the ground, and her large blue eyes found their way to the sight of two dirty, and very bare feet in the grass. She began to look up, still very tearful but beginning to feel hope, and entirely expecting them to belong to her hero. But she was wrong. The person standing in front of her wore a soft frown, accessing eyes, and a hooded cloak of the deepest red. The girl sniffled, and although it seemed at first as though she was going to burst into an entire new round of tears, she surprised the stranger when she jumped up from the ground and wrapped her small arms around their legs. Pressing her wet face against their leggings, she held fast to the only person she had seen in what felt to be her entire life. The stranger bent over into a crouch after some urging, and the little girl stood in front of them reluctantly, wiping her eyes and looking into the hooded face of an older girl she had never seen before.

This girl placed her hand against her dirt streaked face and helped brush away her tears, shushing her and murmuring soothingly as she attempted to clean her face with part of her cloak. When she seemed spot free and mostly settled, the stranger stood up and offered the girl a hand, her eyes entirely trusting and sincere. The girl took her hand gratefully, perturbed by her lack of words, and as they moved away from the clearing and back into the forest, a comforted smile dared to try and make it's way onto her face.

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It took a little less then ten minutes before the trees began to thin, and before the girl realized it, they were on it's edge and she could see the familiar shapes of houses nearby. A delighted laugh broke out onto her face and she pointed in excitement, looking up to he savior and seeing a soft smile. The girl glanced away and began to urge them forward...but she stopped as suddenly the larger hand let go of her own. The girl's big blue eyes looked up questioningly, letting go of the girl's hand and waiting. The girl crouched over, just as before as when she had found her, and she stopped at eye level with the child.

"I can't go with you, Sophie."

The girl, Sophie, blinked in confusion, and she was prepared to open her mouth and ask why when the girl simply answered first. Lifting up her hands, she moved her hood away just so, revealing her brown hair, and a something that only the child could see. Sophie gasped in wonder, and the girl moved her hood back, knowing that she had gotten her point across to the intelligent little girl.

Still, instead of backing away and leaving, Sophie surprised the stranger with one last act of gratitude: the girl ran forward and through her arms around her neck, holding her tight and smiling brighter then ever before, "Thank you, big sister."

The golden eyes of the stranger widened in shock, a clouded pain filling her gaze before she dared to hold the child back, closing her eyes and holding onto this bit of warmth for as long as she could.

When the child finally let go and ran away, she stood up and backed herself up towards the trees, watching the child run towards the neighborhood for a few seconds. The little girl looked back once, waving wildly, and the stranger couldn't help but smile ruefully before she turned her back and finally departed.

Several days came and went, and on one faithful night in the town of Burgess, Sophie was busy pestering her brother for the hundredth time about the girl that had rescued her. As his little sister went on and on about what had happened, he repeated her words back exactly to himself, rolling his eyes as he plopped down on his bed. The girl failed to notice at first when Jamie covered his aching head with his bed's pillow, but as soon as she caught sight of his covered ears she let out a whine and ran over to his bedside. Sophie pushed against his curled form roughly in annoyance, "Jamie! Stop ignoring me!"

Jamie only groaned in response, tightening his hold and refusing to relent. Really he could have just yelled at her to leave, but unfortunately he was to good of a big brother, and the last thing he needed was to get in trouble with his dad for picking on his "little princess".

Sophie kept struggling with her brother until she heard a sound from across the room. She stopped, looking up in surprised when she heard the tapping on the window once more, and her face split into a blinding smile when she saw a familiar face from behind the panes.

"Jack!" She cried out loudly, loud enough for her brother to open his eyes and sit up with a jolt. A similar smile spread across his face as he caught the look of his best friend's smirk, and he hurried off his bed, nearly stumbling as he ordered his excited sister to leave. Sophie ignored him, and when her not leaving became apparent he gave up and told her to close the door. Sophie giggled, obviously pleased, and did as she was told before she hurried over to her brother's side as she moved to open the window. As soon as the window was open, the children moved back and their friend of a year's past easily glided in and landed on his bare feet on the bedroom floor. With his waling stick in hand, and his other hand pocketed in his blue hoodie, Jack Frost stood smiling at his first believer and his little sister, his eyes full of an almost ever present mirth and sense of mischief.

"Jack!" Jamie ran forward and wrapped his arms around the winter spirit, making him laugh aloud in response. Sophie joined them a second later, eager for the attentions of her brother's best friend. After the battle with the boogeyman, Pitch Black himself, Sophie had grown attached to the spirit just like her brother, and along with other children in town and many others around the world, she remained as one of his ever faithful believers.

"Where have been? It's been ages!" Jamie backed away from the spirit, still smiling.

"Oh, you know, just attending to my duties as a Guardian." Jack rubbed his nails against his hoodie, feigning cockiness, and making the children laugh. As quick as she recovered, a thought came to Sophie's mind and she jumped in excitement, gaining the spirits attentions as she insisted on running forward and tugging at his hand.

"Jack! Jack!"

"What? What?" He asked in the same tone, his voice holding amusement as she bounced around while holding onto his hand still.

"I have to tell you about the girl-!"

"Girl?" Jack's eye brow rose when he heard the sound of Jamie groaning and muttering to himself, "Not this again!"

"Yeah, the girl in the forest! The girl that found me!" Despite the excitement in her voice and the glee on her face, the word "found" sharpened Jack's gaze and he looked at the two seriously, his role as a children's Guardian taking over and a concerned gleam in his crystal blue eyes.

"Found, " he said, looking at the girl but then to her older brother. "When was Sophie lost? Where did she go?"

Jamie saw the look on his face and frowned. "Sophie wondered off into the forest several days ago instead of staying with his friends, " he began to explain, ignoring his sister's indigent gasp. "When we found her she had found her way out, and she was going on about this girl that had found her and led her back to town."

"Yeah!" Sophie was smiling again as Jack looked at her, "Jack! Jack! She was so nice! She helped me get home, and she sang to me, and she was so pretty-" Jack Frost tried to stop the rambling girl, holding his hand up in astonishment but she went on, "And she had these ears, Jack! She had doggy ears and she had pretty eyes-!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Jack finally stopped her, his eyes brimming with curiosity as he looked down at Sophie. She stopped talking, her hands frozen on top of her head as she tried to mimic what she had seen. "Doggy ears? What do you mean by doggy ears?"

"I'll show you," the girl replied, and before the two she could stop her she was running out of the bedroom door and into the hall, going to who knows where. The pair waited, Jack looking down at Jamie and being given an apologetic smile. The poor boy had been hearing about this "girl with doggy ears" all week, so he was already on the end of his rope himself.

Finally Sophie came running back, half-heartedly pushing the door shut behind her. Hurrying up to Jack, she presented him with a drawing made out of construction paper. Jack took the paper, letting his staff lean against one shoulder as he held it with both hands. Turning it over, he made out the elementary drawing made on it's surface out of colored pencils to be that of a person's smiling face. A girl with eyes colored with gold and a pair of pointy brown animal ears atop a head of brown hair stared up at him, her shoulders adorned with a scribbling of red and her cheeks sporting a few dots that he had to guess were freckles.

Jack's eyes swept over the image, and Sophie merely smiled up at him as he examined it, watching and waiting.

"Who is this, Sophie?"

"That's her! She's the one who saved me, Jack!" Sophie jumped up and down, earning a glare from her brother.

"Sophie's convinced that she's just like you and the others, " the boy said, and Jack looked up from the drawing. "That's she's some sort of Guardian or spirit."

Looking back at the drawing, Jack couldn't help but admit to himself that he was more then a little curious. If he had been any other person in the world, he would have taken Sophie's story and drawing as the result of an imaginary friend, or even a run in with a very weir member of the town. But Jack wasn't any other person, no, he was a Guardian, and he was more then a little experienced with the workings of creatures of make believe and lore. If there was a mystery woman with dog ears near by, he had reason to assume that what Sophie said was true, and that there was totally a mystery with dog ears nearby, and not only that, but one that he could see with his very own eyes. A smile graced his frost bitten lips, and Jack Frost looked up with excitement shining in his eyes.

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**A/N: I hope that was okay? I'm not quite sure on how in character everyone was, but if anyone spots any mistakes I'll give this chapter another look over! Anywho, I would like to thank the four people that have Favorited my story, and my one follower! I'm not surprised by the lack of reviews, well, there is one but it doesn't really deal with the story. But Jack has been so lacking in these chapters, and more then likely that's what you guys are here for! Rest assured, he'll show up next time when he finally get's to unknowingly reunite with an old friend.**


	4. The Doggy Eared Girl

**A/N: Hello! This chapter is far shorter then the last few by a thousand or so words I would say, but I couldn't help but end it where I did. This chapter's songs include "_Secret Garden_," by the Reel, I think, and let's say "_Journey's End_" from the Skyrim OST!**

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In the heart of the night, deep within the forest where Sophie had become lost all those days ago, a lone animal was running freely in the night. As the wolf willed its powerful legs ever onward, its brown fur rippled in the passing breeze, and a glimpse of its white canines as it ran caused it to appear as though it were smiling in joy. As the omega darted through the brush and the trees, weaving its supple body with a never before seen agility and grace, a herd of deer woke, watching wryly and yet unafraid as it passed. Small animals hurried out of its path, leaping into borrows and holes and running in order to simply avoid being run over. The wolf had been running throughout the wood and beyond all night, as per norm when it came to good weather in the night, so the tired animals were actually sort of used to it.

Before another hour passed, the predator was stopping in its tracks. Heart ricocheting in its chest and its breath coming in short gasps, the animal decided to end its fun and collapse at the foot of one of the many trees around it. After a few moments there was a shifting in the grass and bushes, and a decidedly human curse word was uttered in pain.

Stepping out from behind the leaves, Sophie's heroine adjusted her red cloak around her shoulders, looking about the forest for any wayward teenagers in then night. As her eyes glanced around, she took the elastic band that she had used to bundle her cloak onto her hind leg from her wrist and tied her hair into a sloppy pony tail. Although it was confirmed that no one was around, she couldn't help but hold her cloak closed as she stepped out from under the tree and slowly made her way through the forest on her bare feet. Sure, running about with fur covering her bits and pieces was nice, but as a human she felt far to exposed to walk about with everything showing, whether she was alone or not.

Gloria Wulfe loved her midnight runs through the forest near Burgess. On the particular night the air felt crisp against her skin and smelled faintly of earth and rain. It was a wonderful feeling, being there alone on a perfect night, no matter what form she took, really. There was no one around making her nose wrinkle, no noise of the city making her wolf ears curl whenever they were exposed, and honestly she could roll around and get as dirty as she wanted without looking like an idiot in the process. Being able to take on the guise of a wolf meant freedom, freedom to give in to instinct and what desires came with it, even if those desires were sniffing flowers or howling at the moon.

The moon. The thought of her long time friend sent her eyes skyward as she entered a small clearing, and was thus bathed in its clear light. As it was reflected in her gaze, she couldn't help but smile. A part of enjoying nature was enjoying the stars and the large, white sphere that hung in the inky darkness. Although it was indeed a mixture of her animal and human love for it that caused her to glimpse up towards the night sky every day, it was also due in part to the fact that she owed that great big rock a big favor. Well, really more the man that lived on said big rock.

Hundreds of years ago, Gloria had woken to the whisperings of man in her head. She had tried to open her eyes at the time, but had found it impossible to move, let alone speak aloud and wonder where the hell she was. After struggling and regaining some strength in her limbs, she had managed to crawl out of her confinement beneath the earth and into the cold air. Her first gasp of air was a ragged one, full of fear and confusion and the desire to get out of her shallow grave as quickly as she could. It took several minutes of laying on the earth on her back, breathing deeply, for the girl to piece her thoughts together and look up the see the moon shining down at her. There was no voice then, no one speaking to her from deep within the recesses of her mind, but without a doubt she knew that the voice had come from the moon. Any other person would have been mad, dare she say it, a complete lunatic, but to her it seemed as though that and what it had said were the only things she knew in the world at that time.

Gloria was alive again; she had a second chance at life, but not as anything completely human. Save for that, she knew nothing. Gloria couldn't recall her name, or where she had been born, or how she had…well, died. She could find nothing in her mind save for the words of The Man in the Moon.

Covered in dirt and grime, she stumbled to her feet for the first time in months, and thus began her first night as a spirit.

Ages later, Gloria knew almost the full extent of her powers as a shifter, and she called the forest outside of Burgess her home. Graced with the power to change into a wolf, a human, and something in between, Gloria could walk among the humans seen or unseen as she chose. But despite this, the solitude of the forest was more than welcoming to her each and every time she returned to it in her many years of life.

As she stood alone, Gloria took in a lung full of cool air and the let it out, sighing and thanking the man on the big rock above, whether he could hear her or not she couldn't say, for the hundredth or so time since she had awoken.

Then there was sound. Her golden eyes flew open and Gloria reached out with her senses, testing the wind as it shifted. Suddenly, she was hit with a smell that had not been there before, something that did not belong to any plant or animal. This unknown entity made the hair on the back of her neck rise up, and if she had been a wolf, she would have growled. It wasn't the fact that there was a stranger nearby, but more that they had caught her off guard that made her hackles rise.

Pulling her cloak close, she shifted and looked over her shoulders slowly. The breeze shifted ever so slightly, and with it the location of the intruder grew apparent. Turning around, Gloria's golden gaze landed in the shadows of the trees that had stood behind her, and she spoke aloud, "Who are you?"

A sound echoed from the darkness, and Gloria's anger came to a stop. Was that laughter of all things?

Walking from beneath the trees, the moonlight caught upon the figure of a human. Sporting a walking stick and a clever smirk, a teenager that could have been no older then her strolled into the clearing, entirely at ease and with a devil may care gleam shining in his eyes.

"Hello, there!" Jack Frost said, greeting her with his most charming smile, and completely failing at looking innocent.


	5. First Impressions

**A/N: Here we go folks, the moment we've all been waiting for! I nearly caught off half-way through, but then I was like, what the heck! Song's include in no real order, "_Monday_", by Ludovico Einaudi, and "_A Look Back_," by The Album Leaf, and I've decided to start listening to "_Welcome Home_" by Radical Face after beginning and finishing each chapter as a sort of opening and ending theme song to this arch of the story, but that's just me. Enjoy!**

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Some people say that a first impression means everything to a person. For strangers, it could mean the chance at love, a new friendship, or maybe even a new rivalry. Sometimes these things are predetermined by who you know, what you've done in life, and a million other factors. But although connections, personal ideals, or whatnot may plan a large role in determining feelings for the first before hand, ultimately a relationship with a person doesn't really begin until you first meet them, and then later get to really know who they heart. But it all starts with that first glance, those first few words, and your first chance at just saying, "Hello."

When Gloria Wulfe first heard the boy step out of the forest, her teeth had been set in suspicion, and yes, she was a little put off by how he had managed to sneak you on her so easily. But as soon as she heard his friendly "Hello, there", and saw his clever smirk and shining eyes, her suspicions were swept away for a few moments, simply because she was caught off guard by how he appeared, and what her senses told her. With hair as white as snow, pale skin, and eyes the coldest color of blue, she couldn't help but think that he was sort of fairy prince directly out of an old fairy tale. Of course, this idea dimmed once she took in his frost bitten hoodie, and how off his hair style was. The guy was just too modern looking in a way, but what else but fairy magic could make his hair stick up like that? Whatever he was, he was a dead ringer, and although strangers usually made her fur brittle at times, her senses told her that he wasn't something to be feared. Sure, there was some sort of power about him, but his smile was so open and earnest, if not terribly boyish, and really even taking in his scent—a mixture of cold, musk, and snow berries?—caused her worries to cool. Gloria knew it was the wolf in her that made her feel as though he seemed alright, although he had barely spoken a word, but it was that same part of her that made her a little timid, and still not ready to let her shoulders ease up until she got a better feel for him.

"Hello," Gloria said, her voice coming quiet, and yet clear enough for the boy to hear.

In Jack's eyes, the girl looked untamed, and yet strangely, well, beautiful. Jack had been around the world and back, from Russia to Canada, the North to the South Pole, and everywhere in between, and he had seen many, many people. Yet as she stood there, bare legged and watching him cautiously in the night, he couldn't help but the smile that slowly worked its way from a smirk on his face. When he had first emerged from the darkness, he could see the way her body had turned rigid at the sound of the earth under his bare feet, but she had still managed to turn in the most blatantly graceful manner, and the eyes she had fixed him with were dripping in warning, and glowing like heated gold fresh from the bed of a forge. Her hair was various shades of what seemed like dark brown, ruffled and unkempt, and what had what looked to be a leaf embedded behind her right ear. Jack was surprised to see that there were surprisingly human, but after what he had seen in the forest, he could bet his staff on the idea that this had to be the girl he had been looking for. As she spoke her first word in greeting to the boy, she saw some of her unease fall away, and his curiosity was peaked. Just a moment ago he thought that she would have torn his head off, but now the girl just looked like she was being careful.

"Who are you?" Gloria spoke again, keeping her hands firmly tucked in her cloak, and her eyes on this stranger. Her guard could have been an insult to anyone, but really you didn't get to live as many years as she was without a few cautionary steps taken along the way. The boy answered by taking a few light steps forward with her watching him every bit of the way.

"Haven't you heard of me?" He began, lifting up his staff and from his shoulder. Gloria lifted a fine eye brow, giving him the go to continue, "Let's see, do you know the thrill you get when you run through the first blanket of snow, or maybe the chill you get when the cold winds nip at your nose?"

The girl watched him, the cogs in her min turning. Nip on the nose? Snow? Well, there was a bit of frost about his clothing. The his eyes and hair, not the mention the way he smelled and the cold that came with him as he drew near also pointed towards a power pertaining to a spirit of winter, but really that just reminded her of earlier theory…But the nip on the nose bit made her eye brows furrow. Throughout her years of life, Gloria had been around humans enough to pick up tales and legends they had woven from the elements of the world. There was one such name muttered to little children as their mothers bundled them away, a name that she couldn't quiet place at first because it was so seldom used until recently...

Jack watched as the girl's eyes looked him over, taking in his face and his staff, enough so that he was nearly prepared to hold out his chest, but he merely returned to a mischievous smirk. More than anything he was very curious as to if she could guess the right name, although he held back on showing it.

There was one particular name that lay on the edge of her tongue, especially when Gloria remembered one of her more recent strolls through Burgess in her human guise. There was a name being spoken among the children there, one that had not been on all of their minds and stories so often as a few years before, if at all, but the year before, just around Easter, the legend of a particular character of lore had come to light once again in the fantasies of human children, and not just because of the warnings of a few of their mother's either.

"A nip on the nose..," Gloria finally spoke aloud, blinking, and Jack waited. "Jack Frost."

"Yes! That's me, the one and only Jack Frost!" Gloria was surprised by the way he called out happily, swinging his staff and running up towards her. She stepped back a foot or two, glancing skittishly at his sudden proximity. The unexpected closeness filled her nose with the scent her senses had gotten a hint at before, but now it was much stronger, and made her much more awkward, rather than temperamental. She opened her mouth, trying to get her bearings, and visibly relaxed as she did so. Her senses had finally gotten a good feel of him, and strangely enough, she found his joviality to be oddly infectious, as more than likely if they had known each other, she would have smiled.

"And you are, M'lady?" Jack Frost said, gesturing towards her. Gloria kept her eyes locked on his at first, but after a split second she looked away. Where once her animal side had kept her calm and weary, her oh so very human side, and female human side at that, made her self-conscious.

"Well, I, you wouldn't know of me-," She began, but stopped. With her paranoia came with an assessment of how she felt and looked…and right then she felt very naked, in the literal sense.

Jack Frost cocked his head as the face of his new acquaintance suddenly lit up, and he nearly laughed aloud at the sudden small yelp that came from her lips. He jumped back, surprised by her sudden embarrassment, and it was then he noticed something that he really hadn't before. The girls bare legs were something he had taken an easy note of before, but there was something about the way she held her cloak to her torso that made his own eye brow quirk up that time, and as her hold on the red cloak fastened, it suddenly dawned upon him.

"Are you naked?"

Her eyes met his again, the frightened shine there giving it all away, and making his jaw loosen: she really was naked underneath that cloak!

The strange girl whipped out a word of profanity, and then shot past him, his eyes following her dashing legs and curved figure the whole way. Jack mentally cursed himself before hurrying to catch up with her. Jack Frost gave chase, willing himself to keep up with all his might, and not thinking to take to the skies before he noticed the flash of red on the forest floor, revealed by a splash of moon light filtering through the trees. He almost thought that she had crumbled to the ground right there, but he soon found that her red cloak had been discarded. Jack took it up in his free hand and looked it over, noticing that it had a large hood and a small, unhooked clasp at the neck line. His blue eyes looked up, glimpsing through the trees, but knowing that she was well ahead of him as his mind began to whir. Red hood, and the abilities of a werewolf, now what did those two things remind him of? A particular story came to mind, one much more commonly known then his own, but he couldn't make sense of it. Wasn't the little girl in that story attacked by a wolf, and wasn't she just that, a little girl?

Holding the cloak in his hand, Jack figured that the only way he would find out the truth was by asking the girl himself, and with that idea in mind, he took to the skies, calling to the wind and looking for his quarry: this time, the wolf was the one being stalked.

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As her paws hit the ground hard, coupled with her raw strength and agility, the claws in her toes gave her an extra boost along the, and before long Gloria had managed to put some distance between her and Jack Frost. The girl would have stopped to catch her breath perhaps if her heart wasn't about to explode in her chest solely due to her running, no, most of that came from how absolutely mortified she was. A boy she had perhaps never meant in her wildest dreams, a boy that could see her as plain as day, had stood before her while she stood stark naked in the open air. Sure, she had her cloak at the time, the very same cloak that she would later discover she had abandoned without a second thought, but underneath that bit of material she not been wearing pants, or a shirt, or, god forbid, not even a hint of underwear.

There was no one she hated more in the world right then than herself.

Luckily the force behind her long strides through the forest made it easy for her to make her way home, and before her eyes a clearing opened up to that very place. Bolting across her small yard of plush grass, Gloria jumped to her wooden door just in time to shift in one leap, and she was locking herself into her humble cottage without even the slightest look back to see if he had been following her. She thought quickly, seeing her way through the dark with her raw senses, as her night vision was kind of on the bland side. Despite the lack of her eyes, she easily found her way to the next room by way of a perfect memory of the layout of her home, and she swung open a chest, hitting the foot board of her bed that it sat in front of. Digging through the folds of clothing of all types but sharing the same general fittings, she pulled out the familiar feel of a pair of leggings in the main compartment, and some under garments in a smaller one. Pulling the clothing on with hardly a thought of how she rarely wore something so tight fitting and feminine around her legs, but not really caring: at least her freaking legs were covered! If she were still alone, this would hardly bother her, but after feeling so blatantly exposed to something sentient after so long, the feel of the large hoodie, which had been lying at the base of her bed, felt wonderful on her previously bare skin. After glancing over her ensemble Gloria plopped down on her bed with a tired sigh, closing her eyes and sinking into the soft folds beneath.

Finally her heart could catch a break. As she lay there, the image of the boy, Jack, flowed into her mind, having caught up with her thoughts and feeling. She wasn't sure as to what to think of him. He had seemed okay, easy to be around, even, but after what she had just gone through, there was no way that she would ever go ten feet in front of him ever again for the rest of her immortal existence.

Well, that's what the girl thought, until there was a knock on her front door from the other room. Her eyes darted to the open doorway of her room. The thought of just letting him get bored and leave sounded like a good idea, but the idea of his bright smile fading into a frown made her feel guilty, and just bad, really.

The girl sighed, tired of her very existence at that point. She was really too nice for her own good. With this in mind, Gloria slid reluctantly off her bed and onto her chest, hopping off slowly but walking directly to the front door. Her hand gripped the door hand for a moment, hesitating before she decided that it was best to get it over with.

Jack Frost looked up as the door swung up, and without missing a beat, he held up her familiar red cloak, and smiled that smile of his. "You left something behind."

For the first time, Gloria noticed something heart stopping, and with a blink she processed the wonderful fact that within each sclera of his blue eyes was the shape of a snow flake.

Caught entirely off guard by the way her heart sputtered and the awe that filled her, Gloria stepped aside and held open the door to him, an action that would make her roll her eyes later at just the memory of it.

"Come in, Jack."


	6. A Night With Jack

**A/N: Wow, is this title misleading or what? I typed this up randomly at school, so no songs were used to inspire me this time around. Eventually I'll come back and revise these chapters someday, maybe even make them longer, but probably not until I wrap it up.**

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The little main room of the cottage is warm, despite the chill in the air outside. Over the fireplace a pot with the lid is humming, and the delicious smell of a beef stew is humming inside, placed a thirty minutes or so there to cook when Gloria had last stopped by her home. As Jack stepped into the cottage with a look on his face, as he had not expected a welcome inside, his eyes took in the comfortable look of the home. An arm chair sat near the fire, and to his left, but a step down, there was a small kitchen with a stone floor. A ladder led up to a landing on the other side of the cottage, and there he could make out a shape of a bed and a few shelves, while a tall book shelf rested beneath its floor. A door on the right wall led to another room of the house, and mostly it was dark inside its walls, save for the flickering of fire light and the glow in his host's eyes. The feel of the cottage was nothing like the busyness of North's workshop, which was somewhat homey but a little too full of Christmas joy for his tastes, nor was it decked in darkness and containing a sort of chill of Pitch's domain. Instead the darkness only made him aware of the weariness trying to take hold of him even then, and he saw that this was not the haven of an ever busy immortal, but one of a human being that had managed to find a place called home.

Gloria watched as Jack stepped into her abode, closing the door behind him and hanging her cloak up on a hook on the wall. Having Jack in her home brought about a feeling of nakedness that was less to do with her mishap earlier, and more to do with the fact that it had been quiet some time since there had been anything resembling another human being stepping into her territory.

"Nice place you have here," her guest said, his back towards her as he wondered over to her arm chair. Gloria said her thanks, somehow managing to seem calm despite how her nerves jumped under her skin. Placing a kettle on the stove, she asked if he wanted tea or hot chocolate and was turned down, but he immediately perked up when she held open the lid of her cooking pot and the delicious smells of beef and vegetables wafted out, making her taste buds run wild as well. As the two found seats on the cobble stone floor before the fireplace, and their hands full of a warm bowl and a spoon apiece, Jack Frost questions returned and she found that she had no other way to be rid of them other than answering them in full.

"So, who are you, anyways? How long have you been living near Burgess? Why haven't I seen you? And what happened with Sophie, anyways?" Jack asked all of these, but Gloria didn't interrupt, completely fine with all the questions he posed, as if she had done this a million times before with someone else.

Still, she looked down at her bowl when she answered; paying more attention to the beast within her that whined for a taste of the meat she saw in the soup rather than Jack's shining eyes. "My name is Gloria. I've lived in this forest for as long as I can possibly remember. I keep out of the business of humans and even my kind, but when things happen, like that little girl getting lost in my forest, I help when I can." She finally raised her face, shrugging as quietly as she had spoken, "And that's all there is to it." Gloria finally gave into her desires and began to eat, resisting the urge to lick her spoon clean after every mouthful.

"Gloria…" Jack spoke, and she hesitated with a full mouth, somewhat liking the way her name flowed off his tongue like silk. A hard swallow later and she found herself looking away again. It had been awhile since the last time her name had been spoken by anyone, and she really thought that she had to start spending more time with other people if she was going to keep acting the way she did around Jack!

"How long has it been since…ya' know?" Jack asked, and Gloria automatically knew what he meant.

She thought for a moment, mulling over the days in her head. "A hundred or so years, maybe three?"

His salt and pepper eye brows flew up at this, and he put aside his bowl, his hunger forgotten, "Really? If you woke up here and it's been that long then maybe we knew each other! Maybe we both changed at the same time!" Jack Frost sat up, brining himself close to her like he had hours before, and just like before she felt her jumpiness return. Yet his words made her wonder, and thoughts of what could have been filled her mind.

"Do you remember anything? Anything from before when you were a kid?" Jack saw the way he golden eyes looked away with his, and momentarily he was distracted by the way they burned. But as he watched they began to grow tarnished, and a frown formed on her face. He backed away a bit, caught off by the way her expression became shadowed, and then by the sound of her voice.

"I…I don't remember very much," Gloria began. "When I first woke up, I actually didn't remember anything at all. Eventually I knew my name, and then a few things came back to me, but…"

Gloria recalled these things, feeling a sense of sadness and regret, feelings from another life she could barely remember. She had died, she had known that much, but something had happened before hand, something terrible that made her heart ache. A small voice in the recesses of her memory remained, along the smell of baked bread, an image of a dog near her fireplace, and the feel of a man's stubble on her forehead. Something was burning, and although she didn't know what had caused the fire, she knew what was being turned to ash. After all, its remains stood all around her.

"My home, this home, it's made up of the structure that I found when I woke up. I was so confused at the time, that I left it for a while, but when I came back, I used it to build this cottage over time." Gloria failed to see the light that had left Jack's eyes as he took in her words, as she was far too distracted with her own thoughts. "I don't know what happened, but I think that it was my home once, but I couldn't rebuild on the damaged soil, I didn't want to. I don't remember much, but when I do, it's in my dreams. I had a family once, but they're long gone."

Her eyes drifted upwards and she looked at Jack. His once boyish and happy grin was replaced with a saddened frown, and regret swam in his eyes. He looked like he felt terrible for what she had taken the time to admit, and she was struck with how empathetic he seemed. She had just met the boy, and yet he cared more about what had happened to her then she would have ever thought possible in that moment.

"I had a sister once, and a mother." Jack said, and she listened. Jack told her about his trip to the small pool of water outside of Burgess. His sister had been with him, and he had promised that he would teach her to skate on the ice. His lesson had gone sour though when the previously safe looking ice of the water cracked, and suddenly his one priority had been getting his little sister to safety. He had made a game of it, trying to scare away her fears when his heart thundered in his chest and her teeth chattered in the cold. Taking up what would become his staff later on, he had managed to swing her over to a safe area on the ice, but at the cost of his own life, as the thin ice gave way under his bare feet and he had been plunged into a cold, inky darkness. Gloria was amazed by how he had managed to pull this off and save his sister, and he had tried to make it fun while he did so! Somehow in the short time that she had known Jack, this seemed very much in character of him, and she wished then that his smile would return again.

Her gaze fell to his lips, and it was then that she realized how close they were sitting to one another. Jack had left his spot that he had taken in front of the fire, his back against her arm chair, and instead he was sitting directly in front of her with his bare feet touching hers. During their talk, it had been impossible to tell how oddly close they had become, but in that moment it became very real, and a thought slipped into her mind when she looked back up into his eyes: three hundred and so years of life, and not once had she been kissed.

Kissing was an intimate thing between two people, a thing that animals and trees had no place in nor ever would in Gloria's mind, but as for Jack…

Somehow Jack Frost's eyes cleared and shined in curiosity, and the idea that maybe he had been thinking the same thing scared the daylights out of Gloria. She flinched back, jumping to her feet and swiftly moving over to her kitchen. Frost blinked; startled by her sudden departure. He wasn't really sure as to what happened. One second they had been talking, in the next they had been looking into each other's eyes, and then suddenly she was across the room, placing her bowl in a sink and nowhere close to touching him.

Gloria turned around, speaking to her guest and trying to remain calm, "It's grown late, so maybe you could stay the night and-"

His eye brows flew up for the second time that night and she quickly back tracked.

"-I mean, I have a pare bed in the loft and you have to be tired and I don't know how far your home may be but you can stay as long as you like—"

A smile began to slide onto his face, and as Gloria noticed it she put her hands together and began to fiddle with her fingers. "-Not that you don't have things to do, but you have to be tired because I'm tired and I really, really don't mind if you stay." She finally finished, silently cursing and at the same time questioning how amused her looked at her distress.

Jack Frost stood up, taking his staff and walking up to her with his empty bowl, "I don't mind at all." Jack handed over his bowl and she took it quickly, glancing away from his face but looking back a second later.

"Good. Well, there are blankets and a pillow already up there and waiting." These words were less rushed then her last ones, and she was grateful to find that she was calming down, despite how close he had become once again.

"Thanks," he merely replied, and walked over to the ladder, giving her a glance over his shoulder before ascending to the loft.

Gloria hurried up with washing the bowls and mostly dousing the fire, and soon she was in the doorway of her room and looking towards the landing. Surprisingly she found Jack watching her, and butterflies filled her stomach. Goodnight, Jack." She called to him.

"Goodnight, Gloria." He replied, his hand propping up his chin as he lay on his stomach and watched her, still smiling. She nodded awkwardly and finally stepped into her room, closing her door behind her back as she went.

As she stumbled into bed, oddly ignorant of the corners and whatnot of the furniture in the small room she had occupied for so long, her thoughts were muddled. Welcome of her pillow and her soft blankets, she snuggled in and tried to forget about the shining blue eyes of the boy in the next room. She failed miserably, of course, and would stay up for a while before falling asleep.

Jack Frost changed positions in his own bed, rolling over and tucking his arms behind his bed. Thoughts of the night flew through his mind and he smiled eager for the day to come. Jack Frost had a feeling that spending time with the immortal girl was bound to be fun.


	7. Breakfest at Gloria's

**A/N: Well, I was going to try and go for quality over quantity, but then this happened.**

* * *

_The dream she dreampt was one of fire. A house was a flame, burning in the night as everything within turned to ash. The air was hot and suffocating, drying up her lips and her tongue as she watched helplessly from afar. Her throat was hoarse, her eyes red, and she knew that she had been screaming minutes before, but at what or who she didn't know. All she knew that she was scared, so very scared. As Gloria watched and her eyes darted about the flames, looking for some sign of familiarity, the hairs on her neck stood up and she became aware of the fact that someone was approaching her from behind._

_Looking over her shoulder slowly, but too weak to stand up from her place on the ground, the girl saw a figure walking towards her. This boy with brown hair and eyes made her clinch her teeth, an unknown name trying to make its way up and onto her lips,. But then she realized that he was around her age, if not a little older, so she swallowed her voice and watched him still. Unbelievably, despite the inferno nearby and the blood that began to drip slowly from her hair line, the boy smiled. He smiled a boyish smile, his eyes shining and his hand lifting from his side and being held out towards her._

_Gloria removed her clinched hand from her cloak and reached out, placing her palm in his as finally his own name came unbidden to her mind._

_"Jack?"_

* * *

Gloria woke with a start, grasping at her sheets and breathing heavily into the warm air of her little cottage. Her eyes sought out a familiar face in the dim light of her room, but before she could utter the name of the person from her dreams, their name faded away into the recesses of her mind, taking their face with them. She sighed, feeling defeated, and rolled over onto her back. Gloria placed her arm across her forehead and examined the ceiling, watching as the first rays of dawn fled across its wooden planks and caused her eyes to constrict minutely.

The memory of the night before slowly came back to her, and with a start she remembered that just in the next room, a boy she barely knew was sleeping. The fact that there was a stranger in her home was one thing, but that she had allowed him and even suggested beforehand that he stay the night should have baffled her. Maybe it was due to the glum of her dreams, or maybe it was because she was becoming a little more trusting them before, but either way, and even if he had practically seen her naked, it didn't bother her that much.

After wallowing for a bit in bed, she leapt out of her blankets and hurried to put on a shirt and a pair of pants. Not so hurriedly, she then opened up her door and peered out, looking for any sign of her guest. After a few seconds her hearing, relatively better than some humans, picked up the sound of a single light snore, confirming that he was still in bed where she had left him.

With this information, she opened her door the rest of the way and stepped quietly but quickly into the main room, making her way over to the small kitchen and to its stove. Pulling on an old apron, Gloria felt a smile come to her face, and she decided that a generous breakfast would probably wake up Frost from his slumber. Pulling down a pan and moving to look for her basket of eggs, Gloria got to work.

* * *

An hour or so later, and the cottage was filled with the smells of breakfast. Jack Frost was groggily descending and then turning away from the ladder that led to the loft, rubbing one eye in a tired fashion, when he took in the sight before him on the main floor. On a medium sized, round table that Gloria had tucked away before were platters of bacon, sausage, ham, scrambled and fried eggs, pancakes and waffles. Frost's mouth dropped open as he took it all in, and Gloria turned away from the kitchen counter with a small plate of toast at hand.

"Good morning, Jack," she said, granting him a smile and hiding how pleased she felt about his reaction.

"H-how did you make all this?" He asked, waving his hands around at it all. As baffled as he was, it didn't stop the onslaught of saliva that sprung into his mouth, and he had to close his mouth to keep himself from drooling openly before his host.

Gloria merely shrugged at his question, placing the plate down and taking one of the two seats by the table as it stood in front of her crackling fire place. "Old fashioned waffle iron, a few pans...nothing big." Living alone sometimes meant getting very, very bored, and when she was bored, Gloria sometimes taught herself to cook. "There's more than enough if you want some."

A smile flashed onto Jack's face, and he was grabbing the other chair in only a few seconds notice and sitting across from her before she could blink, "You don't need to tell me twice!"

As Jack got to work on piling food onto his plate, Gloria took a generous sample of each plate of meat she had prepared, and pretended as though this were just any other morning with any other friend. This was easier done then said, actually, as being around the jovial winter spirit made her feel at ease and even light hearted. As Gloria took a mouthwatering bite of the ham on her plate, she looked up at her guest and wondered if he knew that he had this effect on her, and he smiled again as he caught her looking in his direction. The look she gave him in return could have almost been described as wolfish grin if not for the food in her mouth and her own self-control. This boy was really getting to her.

Finally most of the breakfast had disappeared and Jack Frost sat back with a satisfied look on his face. Feeling as though words were about to be spoken, Gloria finished off her remaining sliver of bacon and wiped her hands free of grease, unsurprised when Jack opened his mouth.

"You know, Sophie called you the "doggy eared girl" when she told me about you." This was less of a question and more of a statement, but it made Gloria smile a bit.

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she drew this picture of you with pointy ears on top of your head," he said, sitting up in his chair and bringing his hands up to the top of his head, mimicking ears, she supposed. "But your ears don't look very "doggy" like to me."

Gloria placed her napkin down, trying to appear casual when she really felt a little nervous at where this conversation was heading, "Well, that's because I don't always have doggy ears, just like I'm not always a wolf."

Jack's eye brows rose, his interest piqued, and he sat forward, "What do you mean?"

The girl felt a little bit reluctant to go any further at first. It had been a while since she had bothered to go into detail about what she could do, if really she had bothered explaining it to anyone at all, but as she took in his glimmering blue eyes she felt her hesitation fade, and really she couldn't help herself at that point.

"I have four forms. Two of these forms you have already seen, and those happen to be my current human form," here she waved a hand over her face, "and the other is my form as a full blooded wolf, right?"

He nodded, still paying attention.

"But…I have two others, two "in between" forms that I don't use as often, and each of these forms lean more towards my human side, or more towards my, well, beastly side. Sophie saw me in my more human "in-between" form."

"You mean…?" Jack watched her stand up from the table, and before he could comprehend what was happening, her human ears had vanished and a top her head were a pair of fuzzy wolf-like ears instead. He opened his mouth in an astonished "o" and upon leaning over and looking behind her he saw the swishing of what could only be a tale. "That's awesome…" Gloria felt heat rise up in her face, feeling embarrassed and more than a little abashed as she sat down back in her seat, her visage returning to normal as she did so.

"So, what about the other one, the more beastly one?" Jack Frost asked, as she expected him to.

"I don't use that one," she replied, attempting to wave his question off.

"Why not? I mean, if shouldn't be as bad as looking like your about to go trick-or-treating or something like the last one, right?"

Gloria raised an eye brow at that comparison, feeling a bit miffed. "No, it doesn't. I'm not going to show you what it looks like, but I can give you an idea. You've heard of werewolves?"

He scoffed, but was smirking still as he spoke, "Of course!"

"Well, there you go. I sort of look like them, in a way," she said, and then took up another bit of ham, signaling that the conversation was over. Still, Jack's mind was swimming with questions and wonder as he thought about what she had said, and Gloria could see the curiosity written all over his face.

Jack Frost stood up from his seat, going to grab his familiar staff by the ladder and fixing her with a glance, "I bet the others will want to get to know you as well."

"What do you mean?" She stopped in the middle of reaching for more food, not knowing what he was implying.

"The other Guardians, of course!" He waved his hands, appearing excited. "If I take you to meet them at our monthly dinner at the North pole, I bet that they'll want to get to know you, too! Hey, one of them might even recognize you or somethin'." Jack Frost had begun to pace about, her golden eyes watching him as the smile grew on his face, but now he placed one hand on his chair, looking at her expectantly.

"I don't know, Jack." Meeting Jack Frost was one thing, but spending time with a bunch of strangers during their get together sounded awkward and weird. But the winter spirit wouldn't have it any other way but his own, and he sidled up to her chair, taking her hands in his as his staff was propped against his shoulder, and his icy blue eyes looked into her molten gold.

"C'mon, Glo, just do it for me, please?" He spoke sweetly, trying to work his way into her heart and failing at noticing the way she flinched a little when he called her by that name.

Glo, it sounded familiar, but she hardly had time to ponder over it as he crouched on one knee, waiting. Gloria sighed, and his face lit up as he anticipated her answer, "Fine, I'll go, Jack."

He leapt up, bouncing on the balls of his feet and laughing. As ever, his emotions were contagious, and Gloria felt herself smiling again even as a coil of uncertainty unwound within her. Jack ran to her front door, taking the handle and looking back at her, "C'mon, the winds should be able to-"

She held up her hands, shaking her head, "No, I have to clean all this up, and besides, you can go on ahead yourself."

"Why? I've got to keep an eye on you so you don't sneak away from me." His smirk nearly made her blush, but she looked away just in time and stood up.

"If I'm going to this dinner, then I'm going to travel there the way I always do," She smiled, adrenaline already pumping through her veins as she imagined the run north.


	8. Heading North

**A/N: Hey, guys. Long time, no see, I guess? This chapter is a bit short, but contains more information on Gloria. I also liked where I left off and already know what I plan on doing in the next chapter. I'm a little distracted with another story idea but expect the next one to pop up soon enough! No songs for this chapter.**

* * *

In only one short hour Gloria had the house cleaned, the door locked behind them, and she has set off on a full run through the forest. Heading north as quickly as her lean legs would take her, the girl looked up every now and then and saw the familiar form of Jack Frost using the winds to guide him towards the Pole.

When Gloria had first told him as to how she had intended on getting there he was a little baffled. After all, when they had met each other she had just shifted forms and she had been practically naked. Did she really intend on meeting the others wearing only a red cloak and a hello?

Surprisingly, this had made her laugh, a sound that made his own smile widen although he wasn't quite sure as to what was so funny. Gloria explained that yes, when they had met she had only had her cloak, and it had been bound to her leg with a stretchable band. The band was something she only used when she was fairly sure that she wouldn't be making any pit stops, but for longer runs she had something else at her disposal.

* * *

Walking up to Jack she had held in her hand a small bag. This tiny leather back pack had only a single compartment and a flap, but also two straps. It was a normal thing, perhaps to be used for a short trip around town with friends or what not, and Jack wasn't quite sure as to how she used it at all as a wolf.

"It's simple. I put in a bit of my smallest clothing, my cloak is bound in a tight roll on the top, and I simply put it on before shifting. The straps are stretchable, and while in my human form they are very tight, but as I shift it loosens just enough so that I'm comfortable as a wolf," she explained. Jack gave her an incredulous look, saying without words but with a lift of one of his eye brows that he didn't quite understand or didn't believe her.

After dunking into her room for a bit she had walked out on four legs, and looked up to see Jack with a hand over his mouth, clearly holding back laughter. What exactly was so funny?

"You look like one of those Seeing Eye dogs or something!" He burst out laughing, and she merely rolled her golden eyes. She didn't really care, and there was no way that she was showing up naked in front of Santa Claus of all people. Jack had followed her out the door, locking it as she instructed but still smirking as he did so. Gloria had quickly wiped this smirk off his face when she took off into the woods, moving at a full on sprint and leaving the boy in her dust. Weird looking or no, she was fast and powerful and she had a dinner to get to.

* * *

Rather experienced when it came to cross country running, Gloria easily made her way through and around civilization with hardly attracting any attention. When it was strictly necessary she could dunk into an alley way or a clump of trees and change into her second form, her more human and yet furry eared one, and make her way through towns without scaring the locals. If a child or two saw her tail, they would point and tug at their parents clothing, and at one point Gloria even waved at one of them, smiling a toothy smile and showing off her sharp canines. This earned her a gasp and also a laugh and she had felt pleased. Gloria was no guardian, but she was more than willing to help children, like Sophie who had gotten lost in her wood, and oftentimes they treated her as a wondrous being that could be marveled at, but at the same time treated with care.

Gloria was happy with this fact, knowing full well that it was best that they ultimately kept their distance. North and the Easter Bunny were both as kid friendly as they needed to be, properly suited for their jobs as caretakers of the youth of the world, but as for Gloria she was more for being there only when it was absolutely necessary, and sometimes it was necessary to scare children away from certain parts of her domain rather than simply protect them from it.

* * *

The winds began to finally grow cold and then absolutely freezing, but the shifter kept on her feet enough that her body remained just toasty enough for her to withstand the ice and the snow. Being a supernatural being with fur had its perks, and being a moving furnace while in wolf form seemed to be one of them. Luckily, she was also secretly somewhat familiar with being so far north, something Jack had soon discovered himself. As they made their way north and he was safely suspended in the air, he watched as Gloria took to using the snowy earth of the world as her route, along with the floating ice of the Arctic Ocean. He had been a little worried about this at first, something he wouldn't share with her, and this made since because he was more than familiar with the fatalities of walking on ice. But despite this, quickly enough he had discovered that she knew what she was doing. Gloria maneuvered along the ice gracefully, looking every bit like a normal, wild wolf, but also using the tactical knowledge of human to know where to place her paws when needed. At one point she had been forced to acknowledge that she had no way of crossing a large portion of open water, but before he could dare to ask if she had needed help she made a detour and soon got back on track.

Jack Frost wasn't entirely sure as to how she had done it, but they made it to the North Pole, and not once in their long journey had she asked for his assistance.

* * *

Soon they reached the giant Russian Palace that bore North's legendary workshop. Gloria made it apparent that she would simply be taking the front entrance into the workshop, but Jack Frost had other plans.

"Front doors aren't my style," he said, leaning on his staff and showing off his usual mischievous smirk. "I'll just take the aerial route like I usually do."

Gloria shook her head, but silently accepted this. If Jack wanted to stir up a bit of a commotion, so be it.

"What about you? I don't think the yetis will just let a wolf walk inside without causing a fuss." He waved his staff at her, taking in her beastly appearance with a single glance. She didn't reply, but not because she couldn't, but more because she still knew what she was doing.

Gloria walked away from Jack without a reply, and he shrugged his shoulders, taking to the air and deciding that if anything came up, he would step in and take care of things. Still, the casual way she was acting seemed a little weird to him, and he could almost swear as though she had done this before.

* * *

**A/N: I have a few surprises in store for you, the reader, and Jack in the next chapter!**


	9. Nicholas St North

**A/N: Wow, these chapters just keep getting shorter. But quality over quantity, eh? I listened to "_Caliban's Dream_" by Underworld for this one.**

* * *

"Jack!" A great voice called out, and suddenly Jack Frost found himself being embraced by a man that smelled of sugar cookies and tinsel. The man nearly squeezed the life out of him and he had to make a few muffled sounds off protest in order to escape his bear hug.

Nicholas St. North backed off from the poor winter spirit with a laugh, but not before giving him a pat on the back that made the much smaller boy stumble a bit. The man really didn't know his own strength!

"Hey, North," Jack replied, straitening up. The two Guardians of Childhood walked through North's sprawling workshop, passing yetis that were concentrating on their work for the upcoming Christmas holiday, months upon months away. Although Christmas wasn't exactly around the corner, the yetis were normally always working on building toys for the children of world because there were simply so many out there for North to visit. Jack knew that it would probably get busier around Christmas time, but for now things weren't quite as hurried for the workers. Meanwhile, the elves of the shop were running about and doing their usual bit of mischief for the day, and Jack had to be sure as to not trip over a few as he followed North to his sitting room.

The sitting room was large and spacious, with a roaring fireplace similar to that in his library, and a couple of couple couches for guests with a table situated between them. Jack plopped down on one of the couches with a sigh, propping up his feet on the table and cradling his ever present staff under his arm as he finally got some much needed comfort.

North took his seat in a great red arm chair off to one side of the table, a comfortable position where he could look at all of his guests at once if they rest had arrived yet, "So, Jack, how has it been further south?"

"Same old, same old. I spread some cheer, caused a few snow days where there shouldn't be snow," Jack smiled, looking at this friend and mentor. "You know the usual."

North smiled mirthfully, ever used to the young spirits antics, "Good, good!" Even if a few of his antics would leave him on the naughty list for the rest of his unnatural life.

"Oh, and I met a girl."

North's eyes immediately widened, and Jack almost regretted his words as soon as he said them because of the smile that sprang to the old man's face directly afterwards," Girl? Jack, you never told me you have girlfriend!" He spread his arms, looking positively delighted.

Jack sat up, removing his feet from the furniture, "What? No, we just met last night!"

"Last night," North frowned, fixing him with a stern look that still held a bit of a twinkle despite himself. "Jack, you should get to know girl better before delving head first into committed relationship. Not good for ones heart if not taken seriously." He wagged a meaty finger at the boy, failing to notice the winter spirit roll his eyes in exasperation.

"North, we're not dating. We met last night and I thought that it would be a good idea of invited her over for dinner," he tried to explain, his patience slipping.

North put down his hand, a different concern coming to his mind. "Jack, you invited a human girl, here, to my workshop?"

"She's an immortal like us and the other guardians, actually." Jack stood up from the couch and shrugged to himself. "I met her outside of Burgess, where Jamie lives. She lives by herself, and she's as old as I am, maybe even older! I'm not sure, but she was a little glum so I thought that it would be a good idea to bring her here. After all, your Santa Claus, if there's anyone that can liven' someone up, it's you." He spoke honestly from experience, his smile returning.

North stood up, taking Jack by his shoulders and fixing him with a jolly grin, "Jack, why didn't you just say so? I'm honored!" Frost strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes again.

There was a sound from behind them and North looked over his shoulders. Jack turned around to see a pair of yetis walking into the room, and between them was a certain someone.

Now dressed in a pair of black tights, a shirt, and her familiar red cloak, Gloria was wearing a friendly smile as she walked in, looking between the two. "Hey, guys."

"Glo-!" Jack visibly brightened. Ready and willing to start introductions, he made step towards his newest friend, but he was suddenly interrupted when the large Russian held out his arms and called out over him.

"Wolf Pup!" North said, is smile big as he moved over towards Gloria and enveloped her in a grandfatherly hug. "My dear, my dear! How have you been?"

Jack Frost looked at the smiling twosome, bafflement evident on his face as his job dropped loosely open at this sudden reveal, "Wolf Pup?" He murmured to himself.

Gloria accepted North's warm hug, smiling to herself and at him and soaking in the familial love he was sharing with her. It had been quite some time since she had received such a warm welcome, and she was enjoying every second of it.

"Wait, you two know each other?" A voice interrupted her thoughts and North's let go of her, setting her on her feet as they turned to see a very confused Jack Frost. He was looking between the two of him, waving his staff, and he had given her a look that obviously asked her why she hadn't taken the time to tell him before.

"Of course, Jack! Wolf Pup and I meet years ago, here at my workshop." North spoke up, explaining as Gloria watched on silently. "Yetis find girl outside, freezing in cold and nearly dead. They told me she had eyes like molten gold," he took his forefingers and thumbs and used them to widen his eyes at Jack, "and growled like beast protecting young. I told yetis to bring her in, and I had her wrapped up by fire and filled with delicious hot chocolate, but wolf pup would not eat anything save for meat!" North laughed to himself at the memory, and Gloria blushed. "When it comes to meat, Wolf Pup can give yetis run for money any day!"

Jack Frost looked at Gloria after North had finished his short tale, "Is that what happened?"

She shrugged, still looking a bit abashed. "Yeah, it was shortly after my being revived by the Man on the Moon. I was confused, and lost…well, North saved me. After he and the yetis found me I was able to take the time to get my beastly urges under control and return home."

Jack Frost was curious. What exactly did she mean by "beastly urges"?

"So you are Jack's girlfriend? He spoke of you, Wolf Pup." North spoke up.

Gloria stiffened, looking absolutely shocked, "G-girlfriend? What?"

"I told you, she's not my girlfriend!" Jack said, shooting Gloria apologetic glances and only getting confused ones in return.

"Girlfriend?"

The three flinched, surprised by the unknown voice that spoke up from behind Jack. Jack turned around swiftly as North and Gloria looked passed him, and there by the fireplace stood a familiar face. Holding his signature boomerang and leaning on the side on the mantel of the fireplace with a smug look on his face, Guardian of Childhood and herald of Easter, E. Aster Bunnymund fixed jack with a wicked grin, "Now this I've gotta hear."

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**A/N: Couldn't decide between Wolf Pup or Wolf Cub, but I'll go further into Glo and North's relationship later at the dinner. **


	10. Misunderstandings

**A/N: I'm always afraid that this story might get a little boring for you all, but before I can give up on I come up with a new idea for later on.**

**Edit: I've added an Omake to the end of the story! I couldn't help it, a certain review gave me the idea. Enjoy!**

* * *

Gloria was surprised by the sudden presence of the Easter Bunny, and she had to guess that her not being able to sense him before was partly due to his manner of travel, and the fact that she was more than a little distracted by Jack's flustered response to what north had called her. Still, this didn't stop the grin that spread across her face at seeing another old friend, "Bunnymund!"

It had been quite some time since she had seen the rabbit, but from where she stood she could more than recognize the scent of paint, flowers, and rabbit fur. Bunnymund smiled at her in turn, walking up to the small group with a sly smirk and greeting her warmly, "Nice ta see you again, Little Red."

Of course this confused Jack Frost all the more, and as he looked between the two he made it obvious, "Wait, you know Mr. Kangaroo, too? What about Sandy and Tooth? Next thing you'll be telling me is that you personally know the boogeyman as well!"

Gloria rolled her eyes at the winter spirit and ignored what he last said, but his bewilderment was to be expected since she had never bothered explaining herself before.

Still ticked from the "kangaroo" bit, Bunnymund spoke up again, explaining, "Red and I met a while back. The missues and I were having a disagreement, and I happened to be staying out late one Easter Sunday when I stumbled upon her home."

"Bunnymund stayed the night and left the next morning, but I told him about whom I was." Gloria finished for him.

Jack smiled, chuckling to himself, "Little Red, eh?" But then he stopped, as if realizing something. "Wait, stayed the night? Does that mean I slept in the same bed as that rabbit?" A look of feigned disgust came upon his face and he gagged, wiping any invisible hairs from his clothing desperately. Gloria would have rolled her eyes again at his behavior, something that was quickly becoming a serious habit the longer she knew the boy, but her amusement won out and she smiled at Bunnymund, looking away soon after and hiding her grin when she saw how irritated he was.

"I suppose this dating thing has some merit after all if you happened to spend the night with her, frosty." Jack's smile was long gone, and he began to open his mouth to give a retort to the Easter bunny when North stepped between the two. Acting as a regular mediator between their spats, he held up his hands and tried to calm them.

"Now, none of this! Dinner is nearly done and Manny and Toothiana should be on way." He spoke, moving away from them and walking to the entryway of the sitting room. Bunnymund and Jack backed off, but not before sending each other sour looks. The three followed after North, Jack hanging back a bit to fall next to Gloria's side.

"Little Red Riding Hood? It fits," he said, picking at her red cloak. He was smiling gently now, easily forgetting about the grief he was getting from Bunnymund. "Although, I would never have expected the little girl in the story and the big, bad wolf to be the same person."

Gloria, on the other hand, could still feel the warmth under her skin, and was back to feeling the same way she had around Jack when they had first met. "It's just a name he gave me when I explained myself. There was never any grandmother or wood cutter. It's just a coincidence," she said meekly, not looking at him. "I'm not a Guardian of any sort, but they still see me as the half girl with the power to turn into some sort of fearsome beast."

North was like a grandfather to Gloria, and Bunnymund was a sort of friend that sometimes left her colored eggs around her house on Easter, but she rarely ever saw them. They were always busy, and although their holidays only came about once a year, they had a lot of children to provide for in the meantime. This meant that dropping by for a visit wasn't something she could ever just do, or, at least, that's how she felt. They were friends to her, but they didn't know her as much as she wished they could.

Jack hesitated, seeing the frown on her face and not liking it, so he stopped in his tracks and looked at her. "So who do you want to be seen as?"

She smiled softly, finally meeting his eyes, "Just…me." And she walked past him, hurrying to catch up with the others. Jack watched her go, thinking quickly. He wanted to see her smile more often, and whether it was because he was the Guardian of Fun or it was because he simply liked her, he wanted to see her eyes light up with excitement and joy, just like the eyes of the children he so furiously protected.

* * *

Gloria didn't know what to make of the beautiful Guardian of Memories after she had flitted into the main hall of the workshop.

The small group of immortals was standing before the globe that displayed all of the believers of the world, children that still possessed the will to believe in the Guardians of Childhood. Gloria recognized the gigantic globe from her first visit to the North Pole, but she was amazed by how many more lights could be found scattered across its surface. After the fated battle with the boogeyman, Pitch, many more believers had cropped up like wild fire across the world, and the result was that the Guardians were more powerful than ever, and the boogeyman had far less believers of his own.

The thought of the shadow of a man darkened her thoughts, and Gloria had to force herself to ignore the memories bubbling up within her mind. Luckily she was soon distracted with the flitting of wings, and soon a very colorful and feathered woman flew up to the group, a tiny version of herself flying close behind.

"Toothiana, so glad that you could make it!" North called out, and the Guardians greeted their feathered friend. Gloria stood back as they spoke to one another, raising an eye brow as the tiny little fairy that had come in after the Tooth Fairy, "Baby Tooth" she was called, flew up to Jack and began to dart about him excitedly. Jack Frost laughed, but then noticed Gloria standing awkwardly off to the side and walked over to her with staff in hand and fairy in tow.

"Hey, Glo, have you met Baby Tooth?" He nodded his head to the tiny fairy, who then shyly hid herself behind his shoulder. Gloria raised a hand awkwardly, smiling shyly herself as the fairy peeked over his shoulder.

"Hello," she said, but the fairy only peeped in response, hiding herself again behind Jack at the sight of Gloria's sharp canines. Jack looked at the fairy oddly, entirely ignorant to why she was so afraid, but when he looked back to Gloria she could only shrug. In the meantime North was gesturing over towards her, and she walked over to stand next to the man, his arm draping across her shoulders as he looked up at the Tooth Fairy.

"Toothiana, this is little wolf pup I was telling you about," he said, smiling at the both of them. "Gloria, Toothiana is Tooth Fairy, Guardian of Memories and caretaker of the teeth of all the world's children." Gloria looked up at the dazzling queen fairy, a woman that had to be near her age in body structure, but sprouted feathers of brilliant blues and greens all over her body. Her wings were keeping her aloft in the air, as quick as the wings of a humming bird, and her dainty feathered feet never touched the ground. Gloria mustered up a smile, feeling awkward and plain in front of her. Surprisingly, a look of absolute curiosity and joy crossed the Tooth Fairy's face, and Gloria stumbled back out of North's reach as she suddenly drew close to her face. Without warning the fairy opened Gloria's mouth wide and began to examine what was inside, her eyes holding an intelligent gleam as she looked over her gums and every tooth inside.

"It's just as I imagined! A steady and healthy diet of natural foods has resulted in a pristine smile, and, oh look! these canines are so sharp and magnificent!" Gloria felt the fairy run a finger over her right canine, and her eyes darted over to where Jack stood, obviously saying that she needed help of some kind, but Jack was too busy stifling his laughter to bother doing anything. Luckily the fairy soon drew back, and Gloria was able to closer her mouth and run a quick tongue over her teeth to make sure that every one of them remained.

"Gloria, it's so nice to meet finally," the tooth fairy spoke, moving back and giving her some much needed personal space. "North has told me so much about you." This prompted Gloria to send the old man a look of surprise, and as she ran a hand over her jaw she looked up at the fairy oddly.

"He has?"

North stepped in, speaking, "But of course! How could I not tell friends of wolf pup with appetite of bear?"

The wolf girl felt embarrassed at this, and she could not draw on any words in order to respond to what he had said. But friends? Who other than Toothiana had he told of her existence? After all, Bunnymund had already met her long ago. Gloria looked over to Jack for answers, but he merely shrugged and smiled, nodding towards Bunnymund. Standing near the globe with her furry friend was a new face, the face of a rather small man with hair the color of golden dust and an open, warm expression. He waved towards her, entirely silent, and she waved back, "Who is-?"

"Sandy, the Sandman himself!" North replied, moving up to the Sandman and giving him a heavy pat on the shoulder, causing the much smaller immortal to stagger a bit and send him a soft grin. Jack Frost walked up to Gloria and stood beside her, noticing the smile that was slowly making its way onto her face. As North began to speak to the Sandman, urging him on to speak up more often and more clearly, she looked to her friend and graced him with her warm smile.

"Thank you, Jack."

"For what," he asked, swinging his staff a bit and looking abashed. "All I did was invite you to meet my friends."

She sighed in amusement, "Exactly. I had no idea that they knew about me, and it's been so long since I've seen North and Bunny..." Gloria trialed off, letting her silence speak for itself, and looked down.

Jack caught her implication and sought out her face, causing her took look up slowly as she met his icy blue eyes, "After finding you in that forest, there was no way that I was going to leave you there by yourself," he said, and a boyish smirk worked its way onto his face, making her fear what was about to come next. "Anyways, with the way you greeted me for the first time, I thought you were bound to leave a good first impression on the others," he finished, and winked.

Heat fled into her face as she caught on to what he was talking about, and she flinched back a few inches," Jack Frost!" Without thinking she reached up and punched him on the shoulder, looking indignant and flustered and not really giving a damn as to if she had hurt him or not. His resulting outburst of laughter confirmed that he was alright, but as he kept on chuckling to himself she felt again the urge to hit him rise up in her again.

North and Bunnymund looked on at their little spat, North smiling to himself as Bunnymund tried to come up with a way of working it to his advantage.

"Ah, young love," North sighed, watching the two. Gloria visibly tensed up and shot a look at the old man from across the room, her superior hearing causing her to pick up every word he had said, and those same words make her blush scarlet all the more. Jack looked at her, still laughing, and asking what was the matter, but she ignored him, deciding it would be best if she put some distance between herself and the winter spirit. Thankfully, a yeti came up to the group and announced that dinner was ready and waiting, and she ran up to follow North to the dining hall without so much of second glance at the boy.

* * *

**Omake:**

Gloria was surprised by the sudden presence of the Easter Bunny, and she had to guess that her not being able to sense him before was partly due to his manner of travel, and the fact that she was more than a little distracted by Jack's flustered response to what north had called her. Still, this didn't stop the grin that spread across her face at seeing another old friend, "Bunnymund!"

It had been quite some time since she had seen the rabbit, but from where she stood she could more than recognize the scent of paint, flowers, and rabbit fur. Bunnymund smiled at her in turn, walking up to the small group with a sly smirk and greeting her warmly, "Nice ta see you again, Little Red."

Of course this confused Jack Frost all the more, and as he looked between the two he made it obvious, "Wait, you know Mr. Kangaroo, too? What about Sandy and Tooth? Next thing you'll be telling me is that you personally know the boogeyman as well!"

Gloria's eyes widened considerably, and she looked immediately away, whistling a tuneless melody and suddenly finding an incredible interest in a nearby wall hanging, "Hey, North, that painting over there looks pretty nifty-!"

"Glo."

"-where'd ya get it? Prague-?"

"Gloooo."

"-Holland, maybe? I dunno, it feels like Prague to me-."

"GLORIA!" Jack outright shouted at the girl. Gloria spun around, her eyes looking wild.

"What?! So, we've had tea together, we've seen a few movies, maybe! If you gave the guy a chance maybe you would see that he's not all bad. Hell, didja know he likes to knit? Yeah, big bad Pitch made me a scarf for Christmas last year and maybe if you gave him a chance, you would be cozy and warm during the winter season, too, Mister Popsicle Stand!" Gloria finished in a rush, her arms wide and looking accusing.

Jack looked back and forth between her and the other two, looking slightly scared, while Santa and the Easter Bunny just stared, their jaws unhinged in obvious shock.

From then on Jack made sure to never bring up the boogeyman ever again.

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**A/N: Sometimes I put in a bit of fluff when I don't even mean to, but the trying to be funny part was on purpose...I'll see you all next time!**


	11. A Sense of Family

**A/N: I simply loved writing this chapter, as you can probably tell by the length. This chapter apparently happens to be my longest submitted chapter for this story to date! I would like to not so formally thank SummerAngelz for their comments on the story. I changed the few mistakes that I made while writing earlier chapters, and your enthusiasm with the story made me want to continue it all the more! I would also like to thank the other reviewers that have stuck around for so long, you guys are great!**

**Anyways, the theme song for the story, "Welcome Home", by Radical Face, sounds absolutely brilliant after reading this chapter, so I would once again recommend it while reading it, or after you finish it up.  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

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Before Gloria even entered the dining hall she picked up the delicious aroma of a well cooked dinner. Her nose twitching slightly, she made out the scents of honey glazed ham, meatloaf with tomato paste, roasted potatoes, turkey stuffing, and so much more. Although it was obvious on her tongue that there were a few platters of greens in the mix, it was scent of home cooked meats that made her mouth water and her hunger flare up within her. Her run to the North had been a long one, despite the large breakfast she had made earlier that morning, and as she finally entered the hall with the others, all thought of her awkwardness with Jack was tossed aside in favor of her more carnal desires. The girl barely noticed when Jack chose a seat directly next to her, but she couldn't help but grin quickly in embarrassment and pleasure as North declared that she would sit to his right as the guest of honor.

"It has been too long since you have come to visit my workshop at pole, Wolf Pup, so you get special seat, " he said as his way of an explanation, and Gloria couldn't help but given in to his grandfatherly grin. Bunnymund took up a seat directly left to North, who was of course at the head of the table, and Sandy fell in next to him, and Tooth next to Sandy. Baby Tooth had her own special seat next to Jack on the table, who was quickly appearing to be the little fairy's favorite amongst the group.

As soon as North announced that it was time to dig in, the group took up their plates and began filling them full of foods of their choice. Gloria watched as Bunnymund, Toothinana, and Baby Tooth went for salads and fruits, while Sandy seemed content with a simple broth. Jack and North took a helping of almost everything on the table, but it took a nudge from Frost for Gloria to start taking some samples of her own.

As dinner progressed and Gloria partook in the best dinner of her life, the immortals talked about themselves and their domains. Through a succession of pictures and a few comments on North's behalf, Gloria learned that the Sandman had his own island made out of the remnants of a fallen star, with tendrils of golden sand spread out over the water from the central dune where he took his rest. Toothiana, on the other hand, lived in a glorious palace in the sky somewhere in the east, where her fairies lived and stored teeth all day, teeth that contained the memories of every child on earth from past to present. At the mentioning of this, Gloria stopped eating and perked up.

If the teeth really contained the memories of every child, would there not be a set for her that had all of her memories as well? Before Gloria could voice this thought aloud, Jack spoke up before her, showing that he had been on the same page as her when the topic was brought up, "Tooth, I was able to get back most of my memories when I needed them because of my teeth. Do you think that Gloria might be able to look at hers as well?"

Gloria looked at him gratefully, and then back at the fairy queen, feeling nervous.

"Of course!" Toothiana spoke happily, smiling towards Gloria as if they had known each other for ages rather than an hour or so, "Not only are the teeth collected, but they are always on hand for whenever the children need them in their darkest hours. If it's you memories you want, I can more than allow you to take a peek at your personal collection of baby teeth!"

A smile worked its way onto the girls face, and she glanced at Jack, excitement bubbling underneath her skin. She never would have thought it possible for her to fully regain all of her past, but if what Tooth said was true…

"Wolf Pup, you never told me that you had not remembered yourself from your past life. Why not visit and tell me? I would have gotten sleigh and we would have been to Toothiana's palace in no time!" North's words made Gloria glance away, an embarrassed frown replacing her previous smile.

"I always thought that they would return on their own, and besides," she spoke, admitting carefully. "I always thought that you would be busy with the approaching winter season, so…" "You never thought to visit!" North said, looking aghast, "Wolf Pup, winter is very busy time of the year for me and yetis, but you can always drop by and say hello whenever it pleases you." The girl looked up at North with a look of amazement. Feeling surprised at this, she spoke up in astonishment, "Really?"

"Of course!" A smile enveloped the old man's face, and he stood up from his chair for emphasis, "Fellow Guardians are like family, and you, Wolf Pup, are part of family now as well!"

Gloria looked from him to around the table, and saw that all of the other immortals were looking at her with similar welcome grins. Although she was by far nowhere near the important status of these immortal Guardians of Childhood, they had welcomed her so easily with open arms, and now North was saying that she was a part of the family? Something inside of her made a knot form in her throat, but weakly she was able to speak aloud in equal parts sadness, and happiness, "Thanks guys."

"Ah, now enough with all of the mush; let's get back to the grub, shall we? " Bunnymund spoke up, and Gloria nodded gratefully as they complied. She looked down at her plate, finding that her appetite was mostly lost, and still feeling emotional as ever. By her side, Jack saw how glossy eyed his friend has become, and quickly remedied the situation by sticking his fork into a piece of the ham on her plate and stealing it away.

"Hey!" Gloria protested, her head shooting up as she tried to grab hold of Jack's arm and take back what was rightfully hers.

"Hey, what? Can't to reach high enough?" Jack teased, holding the morsel away from her. As they wrestled, Bunnymund smirked and spoke up.

"Hey Frosty, stop fighting with the Mrs's before I steal away your food as well," the rabbit spoke up, thoroughly enjoying the looks that the two sent him in response. Jack growled, letting up on his teasing long enough for Gloria to take his fork away from him and pop the meat between her sharp canines, reddening as she did so. Bunnymund chuckled to himself, still smirking as Jack stood up and leaned over the table threateningly. Terrorizing the two young immortals was quickly becoming his favorite pastime.

* * *

The dinner eventually came to an end, long into the night, and with its end came time to say goodbye. All of the immortals were more than welcomes by North to stay then night and rest, but it was more than understood by the group when Sandy took to the skies to resume his duties as the bringer of sleep and good dreams, and Tooth chose to fly back to her palace in the sky. Before she left, she turned to Gloria and Jack and said that they were more than welcome to swing by the palace whenever Gloria was ready to receive her dormant memories. Gloria was prepared to wave as she left, but entirely unprepared for the hug that the fairy gave to instead. Despite their differences, Gloria being a darker figure of the wood and Tooth being the bright and bubbly figure head of the tooth fairies, the wolf girl had found herself quickly becoming attached to the feathered woman, and she hugged her back.

Baby Tooth had been a little jittery during the dinner, choosing to stick to hovering over the food and remaining by Jack or Tooth while she was present, but slowly she had come to realize that there was nothing to fear when it came to the girl with the wicked grin, and she had warmed up to as well. Gloria gave her a little wave as she flew away with Tooth, and the little fairy smiled and gave her own, hurrying to catch up with her queen as she departed.

Bunnymund would stay for a little while longer to speak to North on the matter of the Guardians and other similar matters, but he said good night as Gloria and Jack were given a couple of rooms of their own to stay in for the night.

Jack had nothing immediate to attend for the time being, and although he wouldn't admit it with anything other than a yawn, he was exhausted himself.

Gloria knew that she could probably make it back to her home near Burgess if she tried, but the thought of curling up in the warm folds of the blankets that graced the bed in her bedroom was too much to resist. Yet after North gave her a big bear hug and left with Bunnymund, she found herself to be oddly still very awake, and instead of going to bed, she wandered the shop until she found the perfect window seat to rest on while she looked out into the snowy landscape of the north.

Her thoughts were alive, and the possibilities of what she would discover about herself seemed endless, and yet she was oddly calm. Gloria guessed that the reality of the situation just hadn't quite hit her yet, or maybe she was too tired, but she couldn't find see jumping around with joy. There was also the fact that what little she remembered of her past wasn't exactly full of butterflies and rainbows. She could remember bits of a family she once knew, but she could also remember the remnants of a fire that could have stolen them away from her, all those years ago. Gloria wanted her memories back more than anything, but she was also scared of what she would find within them.

So deep in her thoughts, Gloria failed to notice Jack make her way to her, before suddenly her senses picked up his familiar scent, and she found herself turning her head slowly. In the dim light cast by the window, his white hair and pale skin glowed faintly, and she could see his icy gaze land on her as he approached. Gloria moved her feet automatically, and he slid onto the spot across from her on the window seat and watched her, his staff held loosely under his arm as he rest his head upon it. "What's with all of the gloom, "Wolf Pup"?"

Gloria looked at him briefly, rolling her eyes before looking back outside, "I think I liked Glo better." The spirit laughed gently, and after he tapped his bare foot against hers she couldn't help but feel a slight smile come to her face.

"What's up, Glo? I thought that you would be happy after finding out that you would be getting your memories back."

"I am," Gloria began, her eyes finding their way back to looing over the artic. "Over the past three hundred years or so find a way to get my memories back has been a big deal to me. But what little I already remember about my past from dreams and whatever has mostly always been rather…dark." She looked at him as she spoke the last word, her golden eyes without shine.

"Jack, I'm… afraid of what I might l learn about myself. If all I can mostly remember is see a house being burned to the ground in front of me, and possibly losing my family in that very same fire, what else do I have to look forward to? I mean, when I woke up, I had to crawl up out the ground and one of the first things I saw was the smoldering ruins of that place."

Gloria had spoken honestly and openly, and without her having to say so Jack could see the fear in her eyes. She looked a little desperate, desperate to pick all of the pieces of whom and what she once was, but at the same time she looked as though she wanted to turn tail and run away from it all. Instead of trying to tell her not to be afraid, Jack came up with another solution.

"What about all of the good memories?" He spoke to her clearly, sounding urging for her to smile and look on the brighter side of the whole matter, "Yeah, you'll remember what happened, but you'll also remember your family, and all of your friends, as well. Heck, you might even remember me!"

She smiled a little at this, unsurprised by Jack reminding her of the possibility that they could have once been friends, but a thought came to her then, "That's the thing. Before you told me that you accessed your teeth in order to remember who you are. So why then don't you remember me already Jack, if we possibly did live in the same town together?" This thought had come to her a few times during their run up to the north, but she had pushed it aside in favor of focusing on meeting and reuniting with the Guardians.

A frown appeared on Jack's face, and Gloria knew that she had stumped him for the moment. "I'm not entirely sure. Toothiana says that whenever a child is down and out, the fairies have them connect with their teeth, and they are shown happy memories in order to, well, make them happy again. Well, I think that when Baby Tooth opened the cylinder that held my teeth, I was only shown the memories at the time that I really needed. I saw my sister; I was her Guardian and I rescued her! I know that I had a family, and that Burgess was my home, but I think that there may be some latent memories in my teeth that I was not entirely shown."

Gloria looked at him a little doubtfully, but she didn't speak her thoughts aloud. If what Jack said was true, then there was still some possibility that he would remember her, and possibly her him whenever they chose to visit Toothiana's palace. Still, it was a long shot, and Gloria couldn't help but wonder if there was a specific reason why Jack couldn't remember her.

"Anyways, I was in a bit of a hurry, so there are some things I probably missed," Jack spoke up, his regular grin returning. "But about those happy memories: isn't there at least some that you can already recall by now? It couldn't have been all doom and gloom, especially with me in the picture."

The girl ignored his enthusiasm, and enthusiasm that was so like him, and instead she admitted that she had remembered some things. "There were some things, little things. Like the smell of freshly baked bread and the image of a dog resting by the hearth of someone's home."

Jack watched as a calm look fell upon her, and she looked away from him, out the window as warmth came to her eyes, "I can remember, just barely, the feel of a man's stubble on my forehead, and sometimes when I concentrate, the sound of a small voice calling my name from across a field of gold…" Gloria trailed off, her thoughts being lost to the will of the memories she could barely recall. And still Jack watched her, both unaware of the boyishness that left his face, and the peaceful look of something else that was left in its wake.

* * *

**A/N: The fluff, the fluff! It's choking me! Ha, I kid, I kid, I wouldn't call this chapter fluffy. But I do have something pretty big for those two planned in either the next chapter, or the one after that, so stick around!**


	12. Memories

**A/N: As the longest chapter to date, I'm not entirely satisfied with how this turned out. Well, I do really like the end. But one day I will get around to rewriting this. Anywho, no songs for reference this time, save for the songs "The Road" and "The Memory" from The Road OST. Those are more for the end of the story, and you'll find out why. See you at the end!**

* * *

Gloria woke the next day enveloped in something plush and warm. For a moment as she opened her eyes and let the last remnants of sleep fade from her mind, she thought that she was at home in her little cabin in the woods. But then the memories of the night before came flooding back into her mind: the dinner, reuniting with old Guardians and meeting new ones, and then there was Jack...

Sitting up, Gloria looked around in the darkened room and recognized it as being the one North had presented her with for her overnight stay, but although she had remembered getting to the pole, speaking to the others, and then speaking to Jack alone after dinner, she couldn't for the life of her remember ever taking the time to go to bed. After a few minutes of thought she decided to just shrug her confusion away. Perhaps she had just been too tired last night to bother remember something as trivial as going to bed?

Crawling out of the thick blankets, Gloria found her cloak draped over a bedside table and quickly put it on. It was dark in the room because of the thick curtains over the windows, blocking out the twenty-four hour daylight that came with that time of the year, but she easily found the bedroom door. Before opening it up to the hall Gloria moved her fingers through her hair until she thought that she looked somewhat presentable.

While opening it wide and closing it behind her, Gloria was suddenly hit by the smells of Christmas once again. The work of the yetis was already well underway, and as she walked down the hall to the open air of the main hall several rushed passed her, carrying bits of wood, rolled up blue prints, and sometimes only tools. The main hall was abuzz with their busy work, and the only thing that pulled her away from the railing was the growling in her stomach, brought about by the hint of cookies in the air. Her mouth began to water, and Gloria made her way around the room, careful to not get in the way of any of the workers.

One such working yeti caught her eye and she waved, remembering something about his scent or the way he carried himself that told her that he had been one of her escorts the day before. He nodded, but kept his furry hands busy with carving a block of wood into a beautiful and intricate toy train. So distracted with his work as she passed, she nearly stumbled over a pair of elves racing her way, and she spun on her heel, watching them leave before turning about slowly. On their way over to her was another elf, perhaps a friend getting left behind, but rather than letting him pass she crouched down before him. The elf skidded to a stop, trembling slightly at the wicked grin she flashed him, but she failed to notice the fear she caused him by her unintentional baring of her canines.

"Would you mind taking me to North, please?" Gloria asked as gently as she could to the little bugger, and he nodded, turning around and starting off without her. The girl easily kept up with the elf's stubby little run around the workshop, and soon he presented her with a closed door. Knocking gently, she heard the muffled sound of someone welcoming her in, and she opened the door wide and was presented with a wondrous sight.

Entirely filling up a desk chair, North sat working on something small in his hands, and all around him on various surfaces were beautiful sculptures of toys made entirely of ice. Gloria marveled at the train track that he had placed beside him on his central work desk, and even as she watched a little train made of ice was moving around the track, puffs of steam flowing from it as it moved about. Other such wonders could be found around the room, and the girl also found that Jack himself was sitting in an open window, casually swinging his leg and holding his staff in one hand. Jack Frost looked over towards the door and greeted her with a welcome smile, and she smiled in turn, only looking away and back towards North when the memory of the night before came back to her again.

Last night she had been so very divulging over her feelings towards getting her memories back, but he had been so patient and understanding at the time. Gloria sighed inwardly to herself, it seemed as though every time she had Jack figured out he just threw her for another loop.

"Wolf Pup, pleasant sleep, I hope?" North finally spoke up, looking up from his work. Gloria nodded in turn, smiling at his concern.

"Jack tells me that you two may be making your way to Toothiana's palace today, so I prepared a couple of globes for you to help with trip." North rose from his seat and moved over to a book shelf. After taking up one of two beautiful snow globes that sat there, he handed it over to her and let her peer into its clear surface. Inside she could only see a swirl of fake snow, and there appeared to be no figurine to speak of, but before she could open her mouth and ask about it Jack came up to her and took it in his hands. She let her arm drop to her side, watching him closely.

Jack Frost shook the globe in his hands, and Gloria's eye brows rose as within its glass a mountain took shape. Looking closely, Gloria could make out the pillars of a golden palace, and fluffy clouds floated by at its bottom. Gloria looked at Jack, her eyes full of wonder, "That is so cool."

Jack grinned at her, loving her enthusiasm, "You haven't even seen the best part yet." He turned away from her then, and before she could think to stop him, the globe went crashing down onto the wooden floor of the office. There was a sudden wind, and blinking, Gloria's jaw loosened as she took in the sight before her. From within a swirling portal, just wide enough for the two to step in, she could see the golden spires of the tiny mountain reaching into the sky. Little specks flew here and there, and as she watched, one came close and she could make out the shape of a little tooth fairy carrying away a gleaming coin in its little hands. Gloria took in the crisp smells that came from the portal, and nothing could have stopped the smile that she wore from widening.

"This is just so cool!" She said, and Jack watched her, leaning on his staff and smirking to himself. North came up behind the girl and tapped her on her shoulder, and she turned around, still looking awestruck.

"Before you leave, Jack you take globe and keep it safe," He handed the other globe over to Frost, who rolled his eyes but complied. "And Wolf Pup, you take this." The old man smiled warmly, and he handed over something small to Gloria. She took it, and unfurled her fingers, her smile faltering a bit as she examined it. The figurine was small, and fit perfectly into the palm of her hands. Looking it over, she marveled at its four pointed legs that kept it balanced perfectly in her hands, and admired its tiny ears and detailed wooden fur. Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but Gloria managed to hold them back as she clutched the adorable tiny wolf in her hands as she rushed up to North and hugged him as hard as she could managed. His laughter filled the office as she whispered her thank you, warmth filling her as she realized that it had been the first gift she had received in a very long time, besides the hard boiled painted eggs that Bunnymund left around her home during Easter. Gloria back away and North ruffled her hair affectionately, still grinning.

"Be sure to visit more often, Wolf Pup. My workshop will always be open for you whenever you need me!" North said, and she could only quietly say good bye in return, too caught up in her emotions to properly express her gratitude.

She turned away, hesitating only for a second before stepping into the portal, and into Toothiana's domain. The portal swirled shut behind her, stealing away any final look at Nicholas St. North. Jack was already on the other side, and as she turned to look at him, she sent him a warm smiled containing all of her gratitude and joy. Frost looked away, chuckling to himself but unable to stop the warmth that gathered in his face then. Why was he feeling so flustered all of a sudden?

Gloria failed to notice, but instead her eyes found their way around the palace. Towers and platforms of intricately carved gold rose all around her, connected by walkways all around her. The towers were beautifully made, resembling open flowers and curved feathers, all gleaming in the sunlight in a wide array of purples, greens, and other colors that had adorned the feathers of its queen. Fairies flitted about, carrying white teeth or coins that matched the currency of whatever country they were bound for. As Gloria turned back to Jack, her eyes matched perfectly with a couple of shining gold coins that a few fairies carried as they passed her, and again she looked to be completely awestruck. Jack laughed and took her hand, pulling her further into the palace. The day just seemed to be getting better and better.

* * *

Gloria was still caught up in the beauty of the palace when their host finally found them, a familiar tiny fairy following her close behind in the air. Baby Tooth was quick to flutter up to Jack and greet her friend enthusiastically, and Gloria easily noticed the passing stares of some the other fairies. They seemed completely enraptured with the young spirit, and one even stopped long enough to forget about the molar in her hand and glance jealously at the hand that Jack was still holding. Gloria worked her hand free, not wanting to catch the ire of anymore fairies, but Jack only glanced at her briefly before they looked up at Toothiana.

Toothiana greeted them warmly, as bubbly as ever, and even flew down to give Gloria a sisterly hug, as if they had not just seen each other the night before, but instead many nights prior. Gloria smiled in embarrassment but hugged her back, wondering when she would truly get used to her bright attitude. The fairy queen showed them through the palace, explaining how her business worked for Gloria's sake.

In the palace of Punjam Hy Loo, which was located in South East Asia, Toothiana and her fairies were keeping an entire library of teeth for all of the children of the world. Whenever a child lost a tooth, they would be visited by a fairy, and after the tooth was taken away they would leave behind a coin in return. The fairy would then take the tooth to the palace to be placed in a golden cylinder with their other teeth, until there came a time when they needed their most precious of memories to help them get back on their feet. Toothiana showed them one of the capsules, and Gloria noticed that on one end the face of a child was painted, smiling happily. The queen explained that the only people in the world that could open the cylinders and see the memories were herself, her loyal fairies, and the child. This ensured that the memories were kept secret from the rest of the world, and they were always kept safe in the palace. Gloria wondered to herself as to how long they bothered to keep the teeth, but she supposed that if Jack's had remained there hundreds of years after his death, then they would perhaps stay there for as long as the palace remained.

Toothiana flitted away for only a moment before she returned bearing two cylinders, "I knew that you would be visiting soon, so I made sure as to have your teeth ready and waiting!" Gloria smiled gratefully up at her, happy that they would not have to go looking for teeth with only their childhood faces to use as references in their search. As Tooth handed over her cylinder, Gloria immediately noticed how so very warm it was. It was a work of arty, easily fitting into her hand as its gold surface gleamed in the sunlight. Gloria looked it over, and after tilting one end up she finally saw the smiling face of her childhood self. She looked happy, with brown curls framing her face and a light dusting of freckles falling over her nose and her cheeks. Gloria couldn't help but notice that in the image her eyes were not gold, but a normal brown and she decided that her new eyes had to come from her wolf persona. By why had she been given the ability to change into a wolf of all things, anyways? She had no other way of knowing save for opening her capsule and seeing the memories stored inside, but before she did so she looked over to Jack.

"Check it out," he said, and he lifted cylinder for her to see the face painted there on one end. The face there had brown eyes and hair, entirely different from the Jack she knew, but his boyish smile spoke volumes, and there really was no one else in the entire world that it could be.

"You haven't changed one bit," she said, laughing to herself. He cocked his head, confused, but then looked at the face himself. Looking back at her, he smiled that boyish grin, matching the image perfectly, and she laughed again, starting to hide her giggles behind her hand when she suddenly remembered something. The image of Jack's face on the container that held his teeth seemed almost familiar, but as much as she tried to recall when she had seen that face last the less sure she felt. Shrugging to herself and frowning, she turned to Jack again and found that he had put some distance between them, and seemed to be concentrating on his teeth. Gloria looked down at her own, deciding that she would perhaps ask him about the matter later, and she tried to figure out how to open the cylindrical box. As if reading her thoughts, a wayward fairy came up to her, and after asking silently with a nod if they could open it for her, it flew forward and tapped the end of her cylinder with a tiny hand. The fairy flew away before she could say her thanks, but she was quickly distracted by the tiny white teeth inside, carefully tucked between folds of silk. Gloria looked over the tiny things, and found that she of course had no memory of ever having had them or lost them at all. They were small, much like teeth were at whatever young age she was when she lost them, but really teeth always turned out to be such tiny things once you see them up close. Gloria wondered as to how she was supposed to activate them, and really how such things held memories to begin with, but suddenly there was a soft glow of light, and she was pulled in.

Jack, in the meantime, was already activating his teeth, and soon his face was bathed in a fine light.

* * *

He remembered everything.

Jack Frost remembered his first day as school as Jack Overland, a boy with bright brown eyes and a passion for mischief.

Jack remembered the small home where he was raised, and the family that he had loved so much that had inhabited it.

He remembered the first time his father took him ice skating, the first friends he ever made, and, once again, he was reminded of the time when he sacrificed his own life to save his little sister. But then he remembered Gloria.

Jack remembered the little girl with brown, curly hair. Hair that eventually fell into to flowing waves as they grew older and the two best friends in the world grew apart.

He remembered seeing her from across the class room, the playground, the library, and even the local market place with her brother, and always wanting to run up to her and talk to her like they had when they were children. Children running in the golden fields outside of town, giggling over far off worlds and things that could never be. Children that had never known of death, or what it was like to be truly sad about anything save for a broken toy or having to eat vegtibles for dinner.

His memories made him relive the jealousy he felt when Jeffery Rossenger asked her if she wanted to spend the holiday together, and the also the satisfaction he felt when she turned him down in favor of her little brother's illness.

Jack remembered when he would talk to her little brother, Jacob, and try and help him work his way out of his silence through games and listening to the older boy talk, and he could see the smile that Gloria always wore when he took the time to do so not just for Jacob's sake, but also her own.

As memory after memory flitted by of the girl, a wide smile spread across his face, and his pulse began to quicken, until finally he came upon the memory of when he realized that he would never see her again.

Her home had burned. Her family was gone. Gloria was nowhere to be found. Yet oddly enough no one said a thing. Gloria was never mentioned in the local paper, and whenever families spoke about the Wolfe family her name was never brought up. It was if suddenly she didn't exist, or maybe that she had never existed to begin with. As Jack watched the memory a darkness seemed to lift from his mind, and every memory of the girl he had, and every day after her passing came back to him.

As the memories faded into his mind, and his teeth came into view in his hand, he wore a faint frown. It was almost if Gloria had been purposely wiped from the memory of the town, and it had taken a refresher course of his memories hidden away in his teeth to finally see that. But why would they forget about her so easily? Why had he forgotten about her at all? But as Jack thought these things over, he began to smile again. No matter the reason, Gloria was alive, and only a few feet away, waiting, and nothing could change that. Jack looked up from his teeth and towards the girl, expecting to see her smiling face with her fine brown hair shining in the sunlight, and her golden gaze a glow with warmth.

But as he looked up, he saw something very different.

The girl slowly turned, looking up from her teeth and into his eyes. Her skin was pale, and as he watched her then, her lips parted and he heard her utter his name softly. Gloria crumpled to the floor, her knees hitting the ground hard as tears began to fall from her eyes, and her shoulders trembled as sobs began to wrack her small body.

* * *

She remembered everything.

In a sudden rush of power, every memory that she had ever had filled her mind, becoming her and taking hold. In the breath of only a few seconds, Gloria Wulfe saw every second of the life she had led three hundred years prior.

Gloria could remember running in the fields of her home as a child, chasing her laughing father as he held giggling brother in his meaty arms. She could see her mother bending over the hearth of their home, cooking something delcious and filling for the family supper. One moment Char was just a tiny, pititful thing, curled up in an old basket and crying for his mother, and the next he was a full grown hunter, leading her brother across the fields to where she lay in the grass.

She could see her father the gunsmith, carving their heights into the door way of her parents bedroom, and her mother tending her modest garden outside in the spring second Jacob was hooked around their fathers leg, refusing to let go, and the next he was in their mothers arms, only a few days old and just getting to know the world.

Gloria remembered the first time that she had met Jack, while playing outside of town. She remembered seeing him rush past her as she picked flowers by the roadside, something covered by a bit of cloth in his hands. Jack had seen her, and had silently pleaded with her to keep quite as he dunked behind a tree and his from old Mrs. Hemingway. The old biddy had demanded from her the location of the little boy, but she hated the old woman so much and liked the look in the boys eyes just enough to lie about it. Jack had been amazed by this, and even shared some of his loot with her: a fresh baked apple pie. From then on the two had been inseparable Whenever one had difficulties with bullies, the other was always there, and whenever Hemingway was scolding one, more then likely she was scolding the other as well. They had snow ball fights in the winter, and went on secret missions in the forest in the summer. Jack Overland eventually became her mothers "second son", and it always surprised the people of the town when they were not side by side, coming up with some new plan for the day. Jack was always a "bad influence" on her because of the tricks he liked to pull, and she was always "the good little girl" that would step up and join him in whatever punishment he received as a result of going through with them.

When the time came when they no longer spent anytime together she never stopped wishing that she could make up for no longer being there for him.

But with every good memory that came back to her, there eventually came a few heart breaking ones as well.

Like when her father walked out of their home that night for the first time, never to be seen or heard from again. Or when Jacob closed himself off from the world as a result of his departure, refusing to talk to anyone in the world. She could hear the faint sounds of her mother crying in her room, her door just barely open enough for Gloria to hear her sobs from her bed at night.

And then she heard the sounds of voices outside her home, and she could see her mother dunking outside to greet whomever had come to visit that night.

The door rattled, bracing against the length of wood she had used to block out these strangers, and as she shoved her brother away into the hiding spot behind the wall, she could hear him call out her name one last time before she shut the door behind him.

There was her mother, lying broken on the ground, unmoving. There were her sightless eyes, unblinking and devoid of life.

There was Char, trying to protect her, trying to warn them away.

There was the gun, being leveled in their direction.

There was the blood, warming her in the cold.

There was her home, burning in the night.

Reality was brought back to her, and with it all over her pain.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. _It wasn't fair_.

She had always wanted her memories back, no matter how good or bad they would turn out to be, but never in all of her life did she think that it would_ hurt so much_.

Her legs began to feel weak, and she forgot to breath. Looking up, she saw the face from her memories, the face that she had once known so well from her past, and she whispered his name in desperation, "Jack-."

She collapsed, tears already pouring from her eyes as she lifted her hand to her lips to hold back her sobs.

_It wasn't fair._

* * *

**A/N: This was by far the hardest chapter to write out of the entire story thus far. I still have some plans for later chapters, especially the next ones, but I have an idea for the story that...well, may be a bit cliche. I'm still debating over whether to change my mind or not though, so who knows?**


	13. Something Called Determination

**A/N: Short chapter? Yeah, a little. But more then enough! I stumbled upon one the greatest fics that I have read in quite some time, and wow did it give me an urge to write! Apparently the author commonly only gets maybe a handful of reviews for each chapter, and it gave me sort of a confidence boost because she has over three hundred now! Anywho, plenty of songs helped influence this chapter, but the big ones are "Coriolis", by Penguin Cafe, "Manon Theme", by Akira Kosemura and "Tartarus," by Patryk Arkanow. Plenty of emotions are stirred up in this one. Enjoy!**

* * *

Jack's curled staff clattered to the ground beside her, and suddenly she was being pulled into his tight embrace. Jack Frost wasn't very familiar with the concept of comforting others, no, he was the guy that flew it and spread a little fun on a simple whim. Yet more than anything he knew at that moment that Gloria, his oldest living friend in the world, needed him. So as he gathered her up in his arms, he let her bunch up his hoodie in her hands and cry into his shoulder.

He wanted to say that everything was going to be fine, but he didn't know why she was crying to begin with.

But then it hit him.

"I couldn't save them, Jack," she spoke, still sobbing. "They killed my mother, they burned our home, and I couldn't save them! He was inside, Jack. He was inside our house when they set it on fire, and I couldn't save him!"

For a moment all Jack could feel in response to her words was pure shock. After what had happened, was she really trying to blame herself? And yet he could see the answer plainly in her eyes as she stared into his own, and he couldn't stop the pang that hit him inside; Gloria was hurting, and in that instance he felt her pain, and there was nothing more in the world that he wanted to do then be rid of it for good. He wanted to see her smile, see her golden eyes warm up like coins that had been placed in a fire, and he wanted all of her tears and frustration to go away. He let go of her and while still keeping her close, he raised his hands and gently held her pale face, "Gloria. Glo, listen to me. Nothing that happened that night was your fault. You do everything you could. You protected your brother at all costs-."

"But it wasn't enough, Jack. Nothing I did helped. I was supposed to protect him, Jack, and I failed-!" Gloria cut herself off, feeling another wave of pain overtake her, and she began to cry more. When she was unable to hold back one of her sobs, he removed his hands, and grew calm. There was something in his memory, something about that night that he knew he had to tell her.

"Glo, look at me, I need to tell you something." She wouldn't look at him directly at first, but after taking her chin softly in his fingers he managed to bring her face up to his. He looked calm, no longer as desperate as before, and her crying softened for a time once she noticed the glimmer in his eyes.

"Jacob lived. He escaped the fire. You saved him, Glo!"

Her breathing ceased in an instant, and she stared at him blankly. What? Was this true? Was he lying?

But that glimmer in his eyes told her otherwise. Jack looked hopeful, and, yes, so very honest.

Gloria let out the breath she had been holding in, and her heart began to beat normally again.

"Take me to him."

* * *

Three hundred years had passed since the night of the fire that took almost everything Gloria Wulfe had held dear to her heart. Three hundred years would be a long time for one man to live, so she was unsurprised that the Snow Globe took them to where it did.

Gloria had not seen Toothiana since she had activated her teeth, but she had some reason to guess that maybe the Queen had flown off to continue her duties as a Guardian. Tooth didn't show up to send them off, but perhaps it was because of her work that they didn't see her, or maybe she had some feeling that they needed to do what they had to on their own.

The air was warm, it was close to sunset, and there was a light breeze in the air as Gloria sat before the headstone in the little graveyard outside of Burgess. As she sat with her knees drawn up to her chin, she traced her fingers along the lettering on the stone and whispered aloud to herself, ""Jacob Matthews Wulfe, Age Eighty-Seven. Beloved Husband, Father, Friend, and Son"." It was so short, and yet so cliche that Gloria couldn't help but laugh softly to herself, just as she couldn't help the tears that had built up in her eyes upon reading the "Father" bit again, "He was married. He had children." She spoke mostly to herself, and smiled warmly at the head stone before her.

Below his name was a different one, ""Elizabeth Wulfe, Age Eighty-Five"." Happily, she found that she actually recognized the name from her refreshed bundle of memories. Elizabeth had been a little girl with bright, blonde hair, and a smile that could worm it's way into anyone's heart.

Beside their grave was another, which read the name "Matthews Wulfe," and with it was another, his wife. Looking around she knew that there were others members of the Wulfe family. Although her family had started out small, with only herself, her father, her brother and mother, Jacob seemed to make sure that it became more then that, and as did his children after that. Some part of Gloria told her that if she really wanted to, she could probably find more of her family somewhere in the world, maybe even in town. But she was happy just to find herself sitting before her brother once again, knowing that he had survived in her stead.

She had saved him. Jack had been telling the truth. Apparently their little hiding place had a back door, that, although it had been difficult to open at the time due to the grass outside, Jacob had managed to push open at the first signs of smoke. He had run from their home and encountered help along the road, townsfolk that had seen the plumes of gray and had gone running.

Gloria covered her mouth. Tears threatened to return once again, and it wasn't because she was sad, but because she was just so happy. Yes, her mother was gone, and they had lost their home, but there was something truly good that had managed to come out of it all.

There was a slight gust of wind, and Gloria picked up the sound of Jack's feet brushing across the green grass as he made his way over to her. He looked down at her, his staff taking it's natural position on his shoulder.

"See, you saved him after all, Glo." He spoke. The tone of his voice caused Gloria to look up, and she was take aback a bit by the bitter sweet smile on his face. Just ten or so minutes ago, when he had left her alone to go find a perch on a nearby tomb, he had been smiling and happy, more then energized by her reaction to what he had to show her, and what he told her. But at the moment...

"Jack?" She spoke, feeling concerned. The boy looked away, and she stood up, trying to meet his eyes. He gripped his staff tighter, and she noticed that his knuckles had turned white.

"Glo, I'm so sorry," he finally spoke, sounding every bit as regretful as he looked. "We never held a funeral No one said anything. Gloria, they forgot all about you. I forgot about you." The remains of his smile finally dropped away.

Gloria's eyes widened. Forgot?

"Jack, what do you mean, you forgot me-?" She tried to reach out and touch his shoulder, but he turned to look at her so quickly that she flinched back. He looked angry, but his words told her that it wasn't because of her.

"I forgot about you! We all did!" He stepped away and began to swing his staff about irritably as he wanted to hit something "It was if you were erased from existence! Jacob never said anything! You said that you had saved him, that you saw everything, but every part of you was just gone!" Jack turned back to her, his blue eyes flashing. "I couldn't remember you not just because I had not because I didn't go over all of my memories when I looked at my teeth for the first time, but because you had been wiped from my mind, and it wasn't until then that I remembered you. That I really knew you!"

Gloria watched as his anger began to dissipate and it was replaced by something sadder, something that showed obviously how guilty he felt looking at her.

"I forgot my best friend."

Jack's final words took her forward, and without thinking she was holding him close, like when he had held her maybe only half an hour before. She still felt saddened by what she had remembered, but it was so easy to wrap her arms around him and speak to him, "Jack, it's not your fault. There must be some reason why, perhaps, that you couldn't remember."

Jack stood there, letting his chin fall to her shoulder. Her words brought a certain clarity to his mind, and he felt some resolve build up in him. He buried his face in her neck, and held her back. Slowly but surely, with the smell of apples and warmth from her hair filling him, his strength returned. Gloria drew away from him after a time, and in his eyes she saw his determination reflected there, bright and burning.

"Jack."

"I'm going to find out why, Glo. I'm going to find out why we forgot about about you, I promise."

It could have been the loose way he was still holding her, or maybe the confident tone in his voice, but she found herself alight with emotion, and nodding back.

Jack Overland Frost. Whatever he was getting himself into, Gloria's pounding heart told her that she wanted to be apart of it.

* * *

**A/N: The first part was so difficult, but I'm glad that I've finally gotten this part out! Still a lot to look forward to, especially when it comes to the mystery surrounding Jack having forgotten all about her. More will be explained on it later, but until then, I'll see you guys later!**


	14. Dancing on Ice

**A/N: Another short one, I'm afraid, but full of a certain something! I just watched "Ballet Shoes", and I must admit that Emma Watson's voice was in my head the entire time I spent writing this. The songs that helped inspired this one were "If I Were Wrong", by Wolf Larson, and "Home", by Immanu El, along with plenty of others on the "Dreamy" playlist on StereoMood.**

* * *

By the time the two spirits found their way back to the forest of Burgess, Gloria was ready to walk into her little cottage and throw herself onto her bed. Although the day was hardly over, she was mentally exhausted, and the weariness left over from crying was still hanging on her shoulders. A lot had happened that day: one moment she was nervous and ready to learn everything about herself, then she was absolutely heartbroken, then she was just plain happy, and finally she was brimming with confidence.

And it had all been because of Jack. Jack, who had helped her regain her memories, Jack, who comforted her when she was in tears, and Jack, the boy who would do nothing to stop at finding out the truth behind that night, long ago.

Jack Overland Frost, the boy from her past, and the boy who was still very much apart of her present, even hundreds of years past.

So caught up in her thoughts of the boy, she hardly paid any mind to where he was leading her. She would assume that it was her home, and to rest, but as they entered a glade at the edges of the forest, it turned out to be otherwise. Jack let go of her hand, and she looked about. There in the glade was a large pond, framed briefly by several trees that were growing thick with leaves.

"Why are we here?" She dared to ask, casting Jack a curious glance. Gloria had passed the place a million times, and had even drank from it's waters as a wolf, but she had never thought to much of the place.

He turned and looked at her, his smile looking much the same, but somewhat smaller then the norm, "This is where I died."

The girl flinched, surprised by his words. Where he had died? Never had she thought that she would have been familiar with the place, even as lukewarm as she was. Her gold eyes flitted to the waters of the pond, and a frown appeared on her face. It was at the edge of the wood, yes, but it was still so close to her home...

"But it's also where I saved my sister," Jack smiled, looking excited as he turned about and swung hiss staff over his shoulders, holding it much like a branch a boy would use to carry a pair of buckets. The spirit failed to notice the gloom in her eyes as she looked towards the ground. "I saved her life here! I protected her, just like you protected your brother-."

Jack had turned about, and he finally noticed the broken look in her eyes. Hurrying forward, he met her gaze, and she looked up, "Glo?"

"I was so close, Jack. If I had not been so caught up in myself I could have-!" She began but was abruptly caught off as he brought up a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"Glo, it doesn't matter!" He laughed, spinning away from her, and she watched him carefully. "I don't mind being immortal. I get to see the world, start snow storms and spread fun. And have you seen these good looks?" Jack walked back over to her, grinning slyly, and she had to cover a laugh, despite herself. "Growing old is not my thing. Besides, that's not why we're here." Jack sauntered away from her, and she smiled at his turned back: it really was impossible to stay sad around the boy.

"So, again, why are we here?" Gloria followed after him as he walked towards the pond. Before answering, he took his staff and brought it down, touching the water gently. Frost began to flow across the surface, and as the surface began to thicken and freeze over, he turned his blue gaze back over towards her.

"We're going skating," he winked in her direction, but only earned a quirk of her eye brown in response.

"I don't know how, and we don't even have any ice-skates, Overland," Gloria crossed her arms, still smiling but trying to look firm.

Jack laughed aloud, looking even happier then before, "You used to call me that whenever I came up with a new trick to play on Mrs. Hemingway." He held out his hand, and she looked at his pale palm, her confidence wavering.

"You remember that?" But she took his hand as she spoke, and he drew her near, looking into her eyes.

As he spoke, both his eyes and words said that he was being entirely sincere in that moment, "Of course. I remember everything about you, Glo." And he walked onto the ice, pulling her along. He let his staff drop to the ground, and she hardly noticed as she took his other hand. She followed him, stepping carefully with her bare feet, as his lifted themselves slightly off the ice.

"I remember how you liked to dual with sticks outside of town," Jack continued to speak, and she watched him, only glancing down a time or two when she slipped a bit. He caught her easily each time, and they were moving slowly towards the center of the pond, his lift easily pulling her along, "And every time you would sneak out with me and climb to the top of the church, and name the stars after everyone in town." Jack looked excited, happy even, with every memory he easily recalled and told her. "And I remember the first time Jeffery Rossenger tried to make a move on you during class." This last bit he said with a roll of her eyes and she laughed, earning a confused look from him.

"I never liked him. He had big ears." They both laughed, causing her to stumble a bit on the ice. Jack's smile was brighter once it came back, and as they finally entered the center of the pond, he let his feet touch down once more, and the winter spirit began to slowly turn them. Gloria moved along with him, partially excited and partially afraid for her life. But as he began to laugh loudly, she joined him, shakily at first as he picked up speed, but she let him. Gloria trusted him more then anyone else, and she knew that if she fell, he would be there to catch her.

Suddenly, he stopped, and he drew her towards himself, both of them still laughing, but somehow still managing to keep themselves on their feet.

Jack Frost looked into her eyes, and spoke, "I'll always remember you, Glo. I promise."

Gloria laughed lightly, still looking into his eyes, but feeling her heart pick up speed in her chest. It wasn't because of her fear of falling, but for an entirely different reason, and in a flash, she was back in the marketplace, watching her childhood friend and crush walking in her direction, smiling the same way he was now. Except Gloria never thought Jack's smile could look as warm as it did as he held her close on the ice, staring into her eyes.

* * *

Night finally fell, and Jack brought the two of them back to her cottage. Gloria was distracted, too distracted by his hand in hers to pay attention to where they were going until she was at her wooden door. She looked back at him as she opened it, but he made no move to step it.

"I've gotta lot of catching up to do in Burgess, a few freakish snowstorms to make," He looked over his staff before casually leaning into it, fixing his friend with the same warm and foreign look that he had on earlier at the pond. "But I'll stop by as soon as I ice over the west coast."

Gloria shook her head to herself, smiling, "Sure thing."

"You'll have the bed ready for me?" He spoke, before standing straight, his smile faltering. "I mean, my bed, The bed in the loft."

Covering her mouth as she laughed to herself, Gloria looked away as she blushed lightly. Hoping that it was hidden in the lengthening shadows, she glanced back towards her friend, "Yes, Jack."

"Right. Awesome. Good." Jack stepped back, swinging his staff. "See ya', Glo!" His smile returning, Jack gave her a mock salute and turned about, jumping into the air and taking to the skies.

Gloria watched him fly over the trees until he disappeared, before disappearing into her house, herself. Once inside, she quickly took off her red cloak and tossed it onto her chair, not stopping her little sprint until she got to her bed and flung herself on it's thick blankets.

Rolling onto her back, she giggled, running her hands through her hair and feeling light as a feather, even with how tired she felt. Gloria felt as though she was in her old bed, laughing as she remembered spending hours with her friend in the fields as a child. But she wasn't a child anymore, in fact she was rather very old, but Jack still made her feel like jumping on her bed and yelling.

Jack. Jack Frost. Jack Overland Frost. The boy with brown hair and brown eyes. The boy with white hair and blue eyes with snowflakes embedded in them. The boy that made her pulse run at a million miles a second.

Jack. Jack. Jack!

Gloria giggled, blushing to herself as she turned over and buried her face half way into her pillow. Soon the winter spirit would return, and she would be waiting for him.

Slowly but surely, although she felt as though she could jump up and sprint through the forest, Gloria fell asleep, her smile still slipping away as her exhaustion finally got the best of her.

And as the shadows lengthened in her room, she failed to take notice of the way they stretched, taking on a new form entirely, a form that removed itself from the wall above her bed, and stared wickedly down at her, with its two golden, yellow eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Now I wonder who that could be? Forty reviews? You guys are so amazing! Every new review that I receive helps me write the next chapter, and really if it weren't for you guys, I don't think that I would have gotten so far. But I had so much left to write! The next chapter will not be as fluffed up as this one, be warned! It's time for the summary of the story to finally kick in! Also, if you guys would, could you perhaps take a peek at the poll on my profile? Don't jump to conclusions once it's read, especially after this chapter, but I am really curious about what you guys have to say! **


	15. Afraid

**A/N: The following is a little darker then the norm, but I didn't go into detail enough to hopefully gross anyone out. I'm a little later then normal as well, but that's mostly due to school and having to ****_non-fiction_**** of all things. Yeah, ew. Not my thing. But I already have the next chapter planned out in my head...mostly.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

From within the echoing maze trees enveloped in fog, shapes took form and raced through their winding trunks, dashing across thick roots and rock. Blinking, Gloria watched her four legged brethren run side by side one another, and further beyond them, a great shape lumbered along with the pack. This god of wolves, the tip of it's muzzle and it's four limber legs being the only parts of it's great body not hidden by the leaves of the trees, brought upon her a sense of profound longing she had never felt before, and the girl had to clutch at her chest in order to stop herself from calling out. Something within her was dying to be let free, to tear it's way from her human guise and have her run after and join in their journey. But everything that she could call human within her held back, too afraid of the wildness that rose up to try and smother it, and threatened to tear what remained of her to pieces.

Gloria grit her teeth, refusing to relent, and suddenly the world dropped out from beneath her, and she was falling. Falling down, down, down, and watching the forest rise up and disappear. Her fist fell from her breast, and she reached out her hands, crying out soundlessly in fear.

_What was happening?_

_What was going on?_

Tears gathered in her eyes, but as she tried to scream, she felt something within her twist and take hold. It was that same wildness from before.

She watched helplessly as her finger nails sharpened before her eyes, and her knuckles cracked. Her hands flew up to her head and she grabbed at her skull, crying out in pain as her transformation took hold in a new, and frightening manner.

She was so sacred, and in so much pain, but she couldn't stop it. Nothing could stop it. Every scream that she tried to let out was silenced, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of her body changing, breaking and reforming into something she had once revered, and now wished desperately was not in her power to do. Her gift was taking hold of her, claiming her as it's own, not the other way around.

As she lost herself to the beast within, her eyes snapped open. Snarling, eyes flashing, she let herself go and focused on the one thing that threatened to destroy her humanity entirely, a ravenous need that made her forget herself and everything else that she had once held dear: she was hungry.

* * *

Gloria woke with a start.

Staring at nothing, seeing nothing of the world around her, she tried to piece together her tumultuous emotions, and trembled. The feeling of dread that had come from that dream still lurked beneath her skin, and even as she lay there, gasping, she felt a fresh wave of tears gather in her eyes.

The dream had been so familiar, and it had brought upon a darkness that she had not felt in over a hundred years. But why had it returned, why then?

Her tongue darted out, licking her lips, and she became very aware of the metallic taste in her mouth and on her lips.

It tasted like...it tasted like...

Gloria shot up, her skin scraping against something. She looked down, and saw there, beneath her hand, crushed leaves and grass still repairing itself from the effects of winter. This was outside, she was outside, and, glancing down at her lap, her gold eyes took in her bare skin. She was no longer wearing her tight, short sleeved shirt or leggings, no, she was completely naked.

A sharp smell entered her nostrils, and she flinched, her hand going up to her face and feebly attempting to block out the offensive odor. She failed, of course, her superior senses causing the scent to over take her and illicit a short coughing fit. As she regained composer, her eyes swept around the small area, and there, not but five feet away from her was something dead. A deer. It was a deer carcass, and it's stomach had been lain bare, its inner flesh open to the world, and it's limbs slack, motionless.

A horrified sound worked its way out of her throat, and she scrambled to stand up and get as far away from the lifeless thing as possible. Gloria had seen dead things before, rotting and feeding the forest for future saplings or benefiting the trees that already grew there, but never had she...she had not been so close to...not since...

Her thoughts beat upon her mind relentlessly as she fled the area, picking up speed. Ignoring the fear that rose up into her, she changed guises and was on her way home in her wolf form in the blink of an eye.

This wasn't like her dream, the change was effortless, as it normally was, as she always wanted it to be, but as soon as she reached her cottage, she shifted immediately back onto her two, clumsy human feet. Tearing open her door and slamming it shut behind her, she lifted up the slab of wood beside the entrance and barred it shut, only allowing herself to back up and trip onto the wooden floor once she was sure that she was safe in her home.

But she didn't feel safe. No, even as she sat there, her hands clasped to her mouth, and her heart beating a million miles an hour, she felt herself shake in fear.

After all, the thing she was so afraid of wasn't outside, in that blood stained glade. It was in her home, with her.

But, no, it couldn't be. It wasn't happening again, was it? Not now, not after so long!

Her hands fell away from her face, and she looked down at them, her eyes widening at the sight of the red marks that marred her fingers and palms. Jumping to her feet, she raced to her bedroom, and stopped beside her rustic washing stand. Her vision fled to its perfectly oval mirror, and her eyes took in the sight of the blood caked on her chin and lips before she could warn herself to look away. A sob tore its way up into her throat, but she pushed it down, instead glancing at and dipping her hands into the bowl on the stand, full with water that had been meant for the morning that had begun for her only a few hours past, in the forest, not in her home.

She tried to ignore the red that gathered there in water, and focusing wholly on scrubbing away the blood first on her face and then her hands, rubbing furiously with her fingers, and then the towel in the stand's little drawer.

Gloria scrubbed at her skin until it had turned an angry red, making sure to look over her neck and arms before leaving the then soiled towel beside the bowl of dirty water. Finding and putting on clothing calmed her nerves a bit. Feeling soft cloth spread out over her skin made her feel more human, and less like the creature from the night before. Trying to keep that sense of calm with her all the while, she moved about her home and took her time locking it down.

The windows were covered, their curtains drawn tight so that no one could see in from the outside, and she double, then triple checked her door to make sure that it had been barred firmly behind her. As her cottage fell into darkness, she made ready a small fire, one that she knew that she would let go out in time without even her caring.

After looking around her main room, she swallowed hard and made her way back into her room. Curling up in her bed, she shut her eyes and tried to sleep. She wasn't tired, no, but she didn't want to think about what she had seen only an hour before, and what she knew it entailed.

Still, as she lay there, and he heart beat uncomfortably in her chest, flashes of the night before came back to her, and all she could see in her mind were images of the forest rushing by her, the fear of other animals on her pallet, and the yearning for hot meat in her mind.

With all of this, it was hardly surprising that she would be left laying there in bed, listing to the frightened sound of her heart beating loudly in her chest. Her eyes were shut so tight, her senses so forcefully cut off from the world, that she never knew of the man staring wickedly at her from the shadows of her home as the fire slowly died.

* * *

Cut off from the world outside, Gloria spent what felt to be an eternity locked away in her home without daring to open her windows or door. She kept mostly silent as she stayed within, but as time passed and nothing stirred within her, she was nearly tempted to try and escape her self made prison.

But that was before she woke one hour from a fitful slumber to discover the state of her home.

Feathers lay about, torn asunder from the pillows of her main and guest beds, and torn apart to were their feather mattresses. Ash covered the immediate area around the hearth, and there were deep scars on the surfaces of the floor, the cabinets in her kitchen, and the ladder that led up to the loft, where books lay torn and half open. Her stock of food was completely gone, anything that she could consider even remotely edible were only a few vegetables, and those were mutilated beyond recovery.

Mercifully, she found that the main door was still shut and barred, but that didn't stop the sob that worked its way up from her stomach as she collapsed to the floor.

She had been lucky that time, but there was no telling when she would wake again, outside her home, miles away and blood choking her in her throat.

Gloria was more then afraid, she was disturbed, and she didn't know what to do.

So caught up in the storm raging inside of her, she didn't notice when there came sounds outside her home. Sounds that could be confused with someones voice, or the tapping of someone's walking stick on the glass of her bedroom window.

No, she didn't notice until one afternoon-evening?-when she was huddled in her armchair, staring into the embers of her fire. There came another tapping, one that she didn't pick up, but then she fell away from her reverie long enough to notice something different before her eyes.

Gloria was naturally warm, she could stand some of the harshest tempatures on her best days, but that day was certainly not her best. She was tired, hungry, and more then a little thirsty, as well, and ultimately she was weak. As she let out a tired breath from deep within her, it spread out before her eyes, in the thin air, and for the first time in a while, she shivered from the cold.

How long had it been so freezing? Not long, she knew, as surely she would have noticed at some point or another despite her problems. Maybe.

No, something had changed, it had gotten colder, and as she drew her red cloak closer to her, she realized that it was getting colder.

Gloria allowed her brow to furrow, and she then heard something different, different from the usual beating of her heart, the crackling of the fire, and her light steps on the floor of her home.

Her name. Someone was calling her name. Someone outside.

Her gold eyes worked their way slowly over to her main door, and she listened intently for the first time in days for something from the outside world, and she was gifted with the sound of a familiar nickname reaching her ears.

"_Glo_!"

She nearly turned away, she should have ignored it, but the sound of his voice carrying through the wood of her home made her heart stutter for a reason besides fear. Gloria stood up from her armchair and made her way over to the door, lifting her hands and slowly but surely removing the plank that was held across it to keep her inside.  
Still, as she let it fall to the floor beside her feet, she only allowed herself to open it but an inch, her eager senses flaring as she took in the smells of the forest, the sun, and her visitor.

"Glo?"

Jack?

"Glo, is that you?" His voice picked up, sounding curious at first, but then excited. Why was he so excited? "Glo, I've been looking for you for days! I looked all over the forest, and then Burgess, and I even went to the Pole! Where have you been?"

She could imagine his smile, even then, but as her eyes fell to the floor, back to the darkness, she didn't respond. She stayed behind her door, and listened.

"Nobody has seen you, its been ages! Why haven't I seen you? I said that I would be back..." He trailed off, and his happy attitude seemed to die. Gloria frowned, closing her eyes and feeling a wave of guilt hit her. She had wanted to see him, but that was before she woke to a living nightmare. That was before she woke up to herself.

She spoke without thinking, whispering to herself, "...Jack."

"Gloria?"

She flinched. His tone had changed, he had picked up on something, the way her voice sounded as she had said his name.

"What's wrong?" He sounded concerned, more then concerned, and as she felt the door shift, she had to put her weight upon it to get him to stop, but that just made him sound all the more worried. "Why won't you let me in? What's going on?"

A sigh came forth from her lips. She just felt so tired, and more then anything she wanted to rip open the door, and fling herself into his arms. She wanted to tell him everything, to let him try and fix her.  
But she couldn't do that. Not to Jack, not to herself.

"I'm sorry, Jack," her voice broke, and she felt the warmth of fresh tears make their way down her cheeks. She was so tired.

His voice came, quiet, unsure, "I don't understand, Glo."

She bit her lip, her hand fleeing to her mouth as the pain made its way up inside her, tearing at her, and hurting as she spoke again.

"I don't want to hurt you."

Jack called out as she pushed the door closed, forcing it to remain that way as he tried to make his way inside. Clumsily, she managed to get the plank to rest haphazardly over the door, and Jack's pounding allowed it to fall back firmly into its resting place. Gloria backed slowly away from the door, crying as her oldest friend in the world yelled her name, every sound she heard him utter twisting its way into her heart, and hurting her far more then any inner demon could ever hope to.

* * *

**A/N: Previously this chapter was a bit longer, but I like this ending better. The ending was nearly a chapter by itself but it was just too short. **

**Glo is going through a lot right now, she's afraid, but more afraid of herself then anything. **


	16. Jack's Conviction

**A/N: This chapter came rather quick, yes? Songs used include the following: "Deception Has a Way with Words", by I Hear Sirens, and "Quite", by This Will Destroy You.**

* * *

Jack would never give up on her.

After three hundred years of waiting, he had finally managed to find his long lost friend, and nothing in the world would stop him from finding out what was keeping her locked away. Her words echoed in his head as he shot off to the North Pole, and as he whipped through the air, the fear and regret that he had picked up from her words kept him flying steadily forward.

Two weeks before, he had left her with the promise that he would find the reason behind her disappearing from Burgess' history, and he had tried to keep to his word.

More then once Jack had stolen away into the library, main hall, and even every church in Burgess. He had spent hours rifling through one document after another, looking for any sign of his friend's death, and when the search had turned up empty, he had gone to Jamie for help. Sophie had been absolutely delighted to find out that the "doggy eared girl" was very real and living near Burgess, but Jack had kept the problems surrounding the girl to himself, only confiding to Jamie when the little girl had left the room in a fit of giggles.

As his ever faithful first believer, Jamie was more then willing to help him try and find information about the girl online, and, secretly, he was more then a little excited at the possibility of meeting a new Guardian. Jack had kept out the part that Gloria had not been chosen by the Man on the Moon for such a role, but neither did he bring it up that she was not one of them.

Perhaps one day Gloria would be chosen, but until then, they had other matters to work out.

Unfortunately, the world wide web had nothing to offer on her as well, and if even searching the internet had yielded no results, Jack couldn't help but feel perplexed. Whatever is was that had placed so much effort into wiping out Glo's existence from the world had done one hell of a job.

Jack left Jamie, promising that come next winter, he would make sure as to knock out his school's power for at least a week for his help. Jamie only waved him on, happy that he had been able to see the Guardian of Fun for a few hours, considering his usually busy routine of spreading fun across the world.

One would think that at that point Jack would be more then a little lost on what to do next, and perhaps they wouldn't be surprised if he had given up on the matter. But his lack of results spurred his confidence on all the more.

If no trace of Glo could be found in the material world, then perhaps searching the spiritual one would do. After all, whatever it was that had tried so hard at covering up Gloria's existence still failed to consider the memories that lay dormant in his teeth. Toothiana would be busy, and Jack didn't want to press her for information about Glo, information that could possibly lie in the teeth of other children that they had grown up with over the years. Instead he flew north to seek out their leader.

* * *

North was more then a little surprised when he was told that Jack Frost had come to visit him in the third time in a single month, and even more so when the yetis told him that he had been civil enough to take the front entrance rather then trying to sneak into the workshop behind their backs. Upon seeing the look on the winter spirit's face when he crossed the room over to where North stood in front of his great globe, the Guardian of Wonder was more then a little amazed at the sight of the usually mischievous immortal teen looking so serious.

"Jack! What brings you so far north?" He piped up, spreading his arms in greeting. Instead of the usual eye roll or smirk, he received a bemused glance, and not because of how apparently irritating his jolliness could be around the other immortal-not that he ever noticed, anyways.

"It's about Glo," he said, pocketing his pale hands and letting his staff fall to it's natural place at his shoulder. It only took this stern mentioning of his Wolf Pup for North to drop his jovial grin and fall into his original guise of a Russian solider. North knew when times called for tinsel and holly, and when they called for plans and action.

"Tell me, what has happened, Jack? " Jack fell beside him, the yetis leaving the room with an unseen nod from North in their direction. Alone with the elder Guardian, Jack allowed himself to drop his guard and tell him everything.

"Before, I came to the Pole wondering if you knew anything of Glo's past, you know before she was murdered outside of Burgess?"

North nodded, looking grim. The first time Jack had told him about Gloria's past, and her being wiped from the history books, the old man had looked ready for a full on assault Unfortunately, her attackers were long gone, and they had no way of knowing who had caused her death to begin with. It didn't take long for them to assume that the fire, and her being removed from even her brother's own memories, were both connected somehow. Jack had not seen North so angry, not since Sandy had been taken out by Pitch Black in the battle only a few months prior, and even then it had not been quite so bad.

But for North, his Wolf Pup was like a granddaughter to him, like family, even if she was more then a little distant at times.

"Of course," North replied to Jack, and was finally met with his cold stare. The look he gave North filled him with worried, but that was because he looked more then a little concerned, afraid even. Something had changed.

"I went to see her again, several days ago at her cottage..."

* * *

Jack landed outside of Glo's abode, almost skipping across the ground a bit as he did so, and wearing a bright grin as he made his way over to her front door. He had not had much luck in finding anything about Gloria's past, but despite his fruitless efforts, he was more then willing to stick by his promise of visiting his friend after spreading a bit of snow across the United States. As he approached, his grin slipped a bit, and he hesitated. He had hardly noticed before, but looking again, he saw that her curtains were drawn over her windows, and that there was something a little off about the glade.

Stopping and listening, Jack looked about, holding his staff in one hand and trying to get a feel for what was bothering him.

Then it hit him. It was quiet. Very quiet. There was no sound of bird song, or the resulting of small animals scampering about in the forest that surrounded her home. No everything just seemed sort of dead...or afraid. Jack shook his head, disrupting these thoughts and figuring that maybe it was nothing at all. He returned to walking up to Gloria's door, and gave it a knock, leaning back and trying to appear nonchalant and cool even. He could already imagine the roll of her eyes, maybe even a laugh at the sight of him, and the image of her smiling in his mind easily made his boyish smile return.

But nothing happened. She didn't open the door, in fact there wasn't a sound from inside. After tapping at her door for a while, and calling her name obnoxiously into the air, he shrugged, feeling disappointed. Maybe she was out? So, he left, flying over the forest and watching out for her for an hour or so before giving up and flying off to see Jamie in town.

Jack returned the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Each time, he got a little more insistent, and stayed around even longer. Where was she? He had said that he would return, didn't he? And as far as he knew, she had no official duties to attend to...

One day, he had the wild idea to try and get her to come out on her own. By dropping the temperature around her house by a degree at a time, he hoped that she would come tearing out, demanding why he had woken her up from maybe a long nap or something, maybe after being gone for so long. Glo was normally a passive girl, but he knew that once upon a time, the cold had been her least favorite thing in the world, which was more then ironic, considering his present condition.

When the time finally came, and her door finally opened, Jack was more then relieved, and ready for anything complaint he had to throw at her, "Glo?" He spoke, trying to look through the inch wide crack into her home. It was dark, no light filtered through, but he thought that perhaps it was just because her windows were covered.

"Glo, is that you?" He asked, wondering what was going on, and failing to hide the excitement building in his voice, "Glo, I've been looking for you for days! I looked all over the forest, and then Burgess, and I even went to the Pole! Where have you been?" He bounced on the balls of his feet, hoping that she would open the door wider and let him inside. Why hadn't she replied?

"Nobody has seen you, its been ages! Why haven't I seen you? I said that I would be back..." His words trailed off, slipping away with his smile. Something was wrong, something had to be wrong, and as he stood there, waiting, he had to bite back the urge to push on the wood himself. But then it came, her voice, and the sound of it made his heart drop in his chest.

"...Jack."

It was just a whisper, but that whisper was enough for his concern to take over, "Gloria? What's wrong? Why won't you let me in?" Pushing on the door with one hand, he was unprepared for the feeling of someone pushing back, not allowing him to step inside. He heard someone exhale, a sigh, and his eyes darted to the crack in the door.

"I'm sorry, Jack," her voice cracked, and he felt his chest pang at the sound. His friend was in pain, and there was nothing more then he wanted to then tear the door open, and find out why. Why was she sorry? Glo had no reason in the entire world to apologize to him!

"I don't understand, Glo," he replied quietly, feeling lost. He stared at the door, trying to see through the wood, trying to see her.

Her reply finally came, "I don't want to hurt you." And as the door closed, he called out, crying out her name and begging to be let in. He pounded against the door, the skin on his hands growing red and pained, but he didn't care. He wanted inside, he wanted to see his friend, he wanted Gloria!

* * *

After his short recount, Jack had found himself hurrying along side North as he made preparations to send for the other Guardians of Childhood for help. They both knew that their schedules were often tight, but for another immortal in need, North also knew that they were more then willing to help.

"Jack, return to Wolf Pup, see if you can find another way to talk to her, and find out what is matter! In the meantime, the other Guardians will arrive, and we will find root of problem, once and for all."

Jack looked up at the old man, glad to see that things were maybe going to finally start getting rolling, "Way ahead of you!" He made ready to leave, but stopped, looking back at North one last time, "Thank you for this, by the way." North saw the look in his eyes, and listened as the shop continued to buzz around them.

"Glo was one of my closest friends before all this, she meant...she meant a lot to me, and she still does. After all this time, I don't want to loose her again."

Watching the young boy with a particular gleam in his eye, North couldn't help but smile warmly at the conviction that he saw there in his blue gaze. "Of course, Jack." Slipping a hand into his red coat, he pulled out a round sphere, and tossed it to Jack, "Here. You'll return to her quicker that way."

Jack nodded, a grin taking over his face. Turning, he threw the snow globe to the floor, and as it crashed, a portal tore open in space, revealing Gloria's cottage waiting beyond With a quick nod in North's direction, Jack dove in, the portal closing quickly behind him as he left.

Returning to the glade, Jack took in the silence once again with sharp eyes. The area was still lacking in life, but as he looked over to the cottage, he noticed a drastic change, and quickly ran over. Jack approached the half open door suspiciously, waiting for any sign of his friend. Pushing against the door with the tips of his fingers, he was surprised when he was met with no resistance on the other side. The main room appeared to be entirely dark, any sort of light caught off from touching it. As the door shifted and he took one step in, he noticed movement on the floor. The small breeze from outside caused several somethings to move in the dark, one of which was visible only due to the light that fell from the outside world behind him. Kneeling down, Jack held his staff in one hand, and picked up a small, white feather from the ground with his other. Glancing up, he noticed that there were several others on the floor about him, and he dared to stand up, dropping the feather and moving further into the darkness.

The door creaked behind him as he looked around, taking in the room cloaked in shadow. As his eyes adjusted, he took in the sight before him with rising fear. The room was a mess. Feathers were everywhere, and as he stepped towards the dead fireplace, ash coated his feet. More then once he felt odd indentations on the floor, and as he stooped down and traced them with his fingers, his eyes told him that the markings belonged to some sort of animal. His head shot up, and he looked around, his heart quickening as he saw the marks on the walls, on the ladder to the loft, and the torn remains of the bed he had slept in a little over two weeks before. Racing into her bedroom, Jack called out her name and look frantically over her bedroom.

As he tore open the curtains that covered her bedroom window, he saw he bed torn to shreds, books strewn about haphazardly, and a chest contained the remains of what could have been clothing at some point.

He raced from the bedroom and out the main door, calling her name and not looking back. Where was she? Where was Gloria? Her words from before returned to him, filling him with dread, and anger.

Jack yelled for the wind, and shot into the sky. He took off, heading over the trees and looking around wildly for his friend. Before he could call out again, hoping that her keen hearing would pick up the sound of his voice, he heard something in the wood, and his eyes widened.

As the scream came again, the winter spirit launched himself into the forest.

* * *

**A/N: The following chapters will have plenty of big reveals! Man I just don't leave time for fillers...**


	17. Bad Wolf

**A/N: Songs that go along with the chapter include "The Time to Run (Finale)", by Dextar Britain and "November", by Max Richter.**

* * *

After Jack had flown north, a certain little girl had made her way into the forest of Burgess with the intent of finding her "doggy eared" friend. It had been sometime since she had seen the mysterious older girl, but no matter how often she drew pictures of her, with her triangle ears and a red hood, none of her friends were willing believe in her existence. Sure, a few were more than willing to hold onto the myths of the Guardians, that is the more prominent Santa Claus, Toothfairy, and Easter Bunny, but it was a little harder to get them to believe that Jack, and even Sandy were out there somewhere, let alone an unnamed dog-girl that they had never heard of before. Tired of being picked on and laughed at by the others, she decided that the best thing she could do was to find her herself, and prove that she was real.

Upon entering the forest, Sophie had quickly forgotten how easy it was to get lost in the wolf's domain, but as she wondered deeper into the trees, her wide smile never wavered as she skipped along. If Sophie found herself to be really lost in the forest, she was more than confident that the doggy-eared girl would just find her again, just like before, and then she would just pull her to town and show the others that she hadn't been lying all that time. Sure, she had been warned by her parents and brother about going to the forest but it was more than worth it to see

But the little girl never expected what she found in the forest. It was something that lurked in nightmares, something that would make her close her bedroom door at night, ask for a light to be left on, and have her daddy check under her bed for before going to bed.

As she crossed further still into the forest, jumping over flowers and giggling to herself, she was unaware at first of the eyes that watched her every movement. Sophie stopped in a small glade between the trees, her head turning around excitedly as she hoped to catch some flash of red, telling of her friend's arrival. Instead, she heard an ominous sound, like that of an angry animal that she had pulled the tail of out of curiosity. Sophie turned; her smile returning when she saw movement in the forest—and then falling as something took form before her very eyes.

She whimpered, watching as it stepped out of the trees, one forearm touching the grassy ground a few feet away from her, and the glimmering of claws making a scream rip from the poor girl's mouth.

The creature burst forth from the trees, and she did the only thing that she could—she ran. Sophie darted across the glade, trying to make it back into the trees, away from the creature and its growling, but her little legs failed to take her far, and she let out a yelp as it skidded in front of her, tearing at the ground and lunging. Falling back and bruising her tail bone on the hard earth, Sophie let out another scream as she closed her eyes, holding herself close and shielding her face with a wave of messy, blonde hair.

Before the lunging of claws could reach her, there came a sudden thump on the grassy floor and with it a voice, "Sophie!" Sophie's head snapped up, her eyes overflowing with tears, and she caught sight of a familiar figure standing between her and the monster: Jack!

Jack Frost moved backwards, and the girl moved with him, pressing herself against his legs and holding on for dear life. His eyes took in the sight before them, making his heart shudder in his chest. What was this?

It hesitated upon seeing the arrival of a new intruder, and stepped back, taking Jack in and giving him enough time to look it over himself. The creature was like Bunnymund in nature that is, covered in fur and animal like in appearance, but that's where the similarities stopped. This one was shorter, leaner, and sporting short claws and glimmering teeth, it was every bit a predator prepared to tear into its helpless prey. Fear lanced through Jack, although he tried to hide it for Sophie's sake, and he realized what was standing before him: a werewolf, a full-blooded werewolf! Jack's frozen stance was broken as the creature opened its jaws, growling ferociously at the boy, and he quickly backed up, trying to put some space between them and the hunter. The werewolf watched him back away and followed after, taking quicker steps as Jack began to hurry and moving gracefully and frighteningly across the ground as it did so. Prepared to spin around and take to the skies with Sophie in his arms, Jack tensed his muscles and glared at the beast.

But then he met its gaze, and it met his, and the word halted around him.

It couldn't be.

_It just couldn't be._

Unbidden and unprepared, Jack felt his lips part as he whispered disbelievingly aloud, "Glo?"

The creature flinched, immediately drawing back its claws. Its canine ears twitched back, and its jaws abruptly closed. Jack straightened as it drew away, stepping back slowly away from the boy, as if the role of predator and prey had been inexplicably been changed. Jack watched as it-_her_-golden eyes fluctuated, pupils dilating in an out as she took him in with a new sense of fear. Feeling more confident, but nonetheless bewildered, Jack slowly took a step forward, wanting to reach out to his friend, but unaware of what she would do if he dared to.

"Gloria?"

There was a scattering of leaves, and suddenly she was gone, the gentle moving of tree leaves on low branches ahead of him the only evidence of her passing. Jack stood there, feeling numb, and hearing only the dull ache of his racing heart and Sophie's quiet sobbing.

* * *

Sophie was safe, Burgess was far behind him, and, looking skyward, Jack could see the echoing of the aurora borealis calling out to the Guardians, just as North had promised it would. As Jack approached the workshop on its high cliff, yeti Phil waved him in, quickly closing the doors behind him as he entered. Inside, the shop was alive with noise. As he flew towards the globe, he saw the usual work of the ever so diligent yetis going on, along with elves as they ran to and fro, looking panicked from the tension in the air. There came a yell, and as Jack landed besides his friends, North through up his hands, in an apparent argument with the Easter Bunny.

"Guys, what's going on?" Jack landed next to the hovering Tooth, a small accompaniment of Baby Teeth fluttering behind her in worry as she held her hands to her face. Sandy was near the arguing duo, his otherwise sleepy demeanor shattered as he looked between them.

"Oh, Jack! You haven't heard?" He shook his head, his eyes snapping to North and Bunny as their voices rose.

"It is too soon for Pitch to be wreaking havoc! It has to be someone else-!" North was cut off in his retort.

"Who else do you think that would take the time to go to _my _warren and crack every one of _my_ eggs, mate?" Bunnymund shook his head as he spoke, looking furious, "He's done it before, what's to stop him from doing it again?"

"Pitch?" Jack spoke up, sounding confused at the mentioning of their old enemy. "The battle was only a few months ago—we beat the crap out of that guy!"

Bunny's eyes flicked over to the young spirit, showing off the serious glimmer within them, "Who else in their right mind would do such a thing? And he didn't just crack my eggs, he ripped the warren apart!" He threw up his hands, failing to notice Jack's eyes widen. "Claw marks, everywhere, on every tree and sentry around! If this isn't his doing, then obviously Pitch's got some new beastie on his side, helpin' him out!"

Clutching his staff close, Jack glanced away from the others, realization dawning on him at Bunnymund's words. North caught on to the look on his face, his skin paling more than normal as he glanced aside. "Jack?"

Jack couldn't stop himself from looking up as his mentor and elder Guardian approached him, his thick brow furred in concern at Jack's withdrawal. "Do you know anything about this?'

The other Guardians watched the boy as his knuckles tightened on his shepherd's staff, "It…it was Gloria."

"What?" North and Bunnymund spoke up in unison, Toothiana flying back in surprise and sand whirling above Sandy's head in nervousness.

"Glo did it," He spoke, quickly looking up and speaking hurriedly. "Something's happened to her—she's changed! I don't think she's knows what she's doing!"

North stepped back, his eyes darting around, and Bunnymund stepped towards them, frowning, "Lil' Red? What do you mean, she's changed-?"

"I don't know!" Jack nearly shouted, glaring at the rabbit unerringly "She isn't acting like a human anymore; she didn't even recognize me in the forest when she…" He stopped, his stubbornness taking hold as his need to protect his friend, even with the way she was acting, took hold and silencing him. Bunnymund noticed this and was about to press forward, but North stopped him, holding up an arm before the Easter Bunny and setting Jack with a serious glance of his eyes.

"Jack, take us to Gloria." North dropped the girl's typical pet name, his grandfatherly love for her falling away, and his duty as a Guardian of Childhood smothering it.

Jack Frost was silent, contemplative, but slowly he managed to nod. He had to save her, and, regretfully, he was afraid that he couldn't do it alone.

* * *

It was cold, it was dark, and as Gloria sat hunched in her little hollow, she felt her heart cry in in pain as the image of Jack's frightened eyes flickered through her mind mercilessly. The girl remembered every second of what had happened in the glade, from Sophie's frightened cries to the shaking of Jack's voice as he looked into her eyes and spoke her name.

_"Gloria?"_

Her need had fallen away, her need to _rip_ and _tear _and pull apart one of the only things left over from her life before besides her own memories. Never in her life had Gloria thought that she would feel as blood thirsty as she did then, and the thought of Jack fleeing from her flashing claws made a sob rise in her throat anew; the only thing keeping her from crying aloud being the hand she had pressed against her mouth.

But that hadn't been the only thing she had done, no. Before she had wondered back to her wood and set her sights on that poor little girl, she had found herself somewhere new, far from home and almost an entire world of its own. At the time the only thing on her mind had been destruction, the bitter taste of egg yolk making her growl and her anger rise up even more as she tore through that fairy tale haven. It was only in her hiding place as she recollected that memory that she realized what that place had been. Never had she been there before, but from Bunnymund's tale from the one night he had spent at her cottage, years ago, it had been easy to imagine the sentry eggs that guarded his warren, the same eggs that she had viciously, albeit fruitlessly, attacked in her rage. Seeing herself there in her mind's eye only added to the pain gathering in her chest, and Gloria sought to curl into herself more so than before, her shoulders shaking as she closed her eyes shut. If the Guradian's learned about what she had done to the warren, and how she had tried to attack Sophie, they would never forgive her.

So caught up in the storm raging within her, the immortal girl hardly noticed when the sunlight streaming into the heart of the base of the tree was caught off, her nakedness further covered from sight as shadow enveloped her.

It was his scent that gave it away. The pure scent of shadow and sickness that her stuffy yet sharp nose that made her aware of the looming figure outside of her hollow.

"Gloria…why so glum?" Pitch spoke up as he stood before her, sounding as sly as ever. She could hear the grin in his voice, a sound that would normally make her hackles rise, if she wasn't as broken as she was then. Gloria's eyes opened, finding their way outside and to the sight of his dark figure, standing before the sunlight, and reminding her very much of the twin solar eclipses she could find in his gaze if she sought them out.

"Feeling a little guilty, are we?" His words made her shudder, and she had to remind herself that he was typically good at sensing negative emotions, specifically fear; they were what he thrived on, after all. Gloria failed to speak up, too caught up in her emotions, and the feeling of déjà vu that his presence brought her. Pitch's scent was not one that lingered, no, it was never there when she woke from a particularly dark nightmare, but his presence made her paranoid, even if she hardly had any reason to fear the Nightmare King before.

"Pitch…" She final managed to speak. Gloria forced herself to get a hold of herself. Pitch seemed odd, a little off, and as she took in his disheveled hair and pallid expression, she couldn't help but think that he looked as though he was recovering from a particularly bad illness. Pitch was weak, the battle with the others had hurt him dearly, so why was he there, out in the open and exposing himself?

"I suppose that you're feeling a little hungry. Perhaps a little on edge," he spoke up again, ignoring her, and looking almost smug as her eyes narrowed. "But this isn't the first time this has happened, is it?"

A growl began to settle within her throat, and Gloria had to bite it back, leaving only a trace of warning on her voice as she spoke up, "How do you know about that?"

The Nightmare King chuckled. Without blinking an eye, coils of darkness came up, and Gloria found herself being wrapped up in a cloak of shadow. Pitch drew her from her hollow, holding her still with ease. Pitch was weak, yes, but time spent in her lupine form had left her physically and mentally weak. As she rose up and her turned his eyes on hers, a wicked smile bloomed on his gray face, and her heart froze.

"I know everything."

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun daah! This was properly expected, but believe me when I say that I have a surprise hidden up my sleeve concerning Glo, and it may not be what you think, at least not when considering Pitch and his place in the story...**

**I noticed that whenever I have an update, my story gets around 200+ visits. C'mon guys, if you have any constructive criticism to share, then I'm more then ready to receive them! Everything helps, especially since the story is reaching its end...and I think that may in fact be around chapter twenty or so. But I have a feeling that this may have a sequel... just maybe. I have a new story idea coming to me for the ROTG fandom, one that I hope will include more about the other Guardians, and the Nightmare King. **


	18. Filled with Shadow

**A/N: Sons include "Tartarus", by Patryk Arkanow, and "Manon Theme", by Akira Kosemura. The link to the playlist for this story can be found on my profile!**

* * *

Gloria kicked and screamed as loud as her poor lungs could handle, all the while Pitch sneered wickedly as he drug her down into the dark domain he called his home. The Nightmare King's palace was a beautiful thing, brilliantly made and yet laced with the same sick darkness that graced the King's shoudlers and made Glo's nose wrinkle and her hair stand on end. As she slid across one walkway after another, her tired body hitting corners each time Pitch took a turn, she called out, wishing, hoping that there was someone out there that could help her.

Finally, the King let her go, but not before tossing her to the side on the raised dais that she found themselves on near the heart his lair. Pitch paced around the landing as she gasped, trying to ignore the pain in her chest from the restricting grip of his shadows and not making much headway as she felt her ripcage groan. The King stopped beside her, and she blinked in pain, looking up into his eyes and wishing that she could at least muster up a pathetic growl in his direction.

"You did this to me?" Gloria whimpered, her mouth feeling dry. "You're the reason why I-?"

"No!" He cut her off, sounding vicious, his earlier amusement from hurting her gone. "I merely took what already existed inside of you, and let it out, for the whole world to see!" Raising his arms dramatically, he swept away from her, a please grin returning to his features.

Curling his fingers, he stopped at the edge of the dais and glanced over his shoulder at her prone form. She trembled slightly, but not because of her lack of proper clothing under all of the shadow that bound her. His terrible gaze was one that had sent children looking under thier beds for countless years, and although she was far from being the child she once was, not even what remained of her inner warmth could protect from the cold she saw in those twin eclipses.

"As you may have guessed, this isn't the first time that I've meddled with you life, no, not at all."

"What have you done?"

"Oh, what else?" He turned to her, his log robes trailing across the ground as he folded his arms behind his tall back. "One hundred or so years ago, I played around with you natural...abilities. You remember that, don't you?" The King cocked his head, and she flinched away, her eyes seeking out anyhting other then him as they filled with remorse.

"Of course..." Gloria still remembered the first time her vicious nature took hold, tainted by Pitch's darkness and making her unrecognizable, wild, hungry. She had taken on the same guise that she refused to show Jack in her cottage in what felt like a lifetime before, and that had been the very same one she had nearly stuck him down in. When Pitch had changed her the first time, years upon years ago, against her wishes, she had decimated livestock, and had been so very close to killing human beings.

But that never happened. She stopped changing against her will one day, without warning, although she must have locked herself away for months on end before she was sure of herself enough to step back into the lights of the sun and the moon. Gloria hadn't known that it was Pitch's doing until the end, when she had seen him lurking over her bed on the last night, grinning his wicked grin before disappearing from her life for a long, long time. It was the battle against Pitch that had brought back those latent fears, and they had been one of the reasons why she had never considered stepping up to try and help the Guardians, the other of course being what she had told Jack, that she was no real savior of little children.

If he, Pitch, had used her against them during the battle, what would have happened on that night? Would it have fallen in his favor, or would she be locked away in his dark home, tearing herself apart inside?

"Why?" She lifted her head from the floor, still deeply enthralled with her own depressing thoughts.

Pitch turned to face her again, having drifted away in a reverie of his own. It seemed as though he was still very weak from the battle in Burgess, as she saw that despite the front he was putting up for her, he seemed slightly haunched over, and his hair was still a mess.

"Why, what, Gloria Wulfe?" He answered her with another.

"Why did you stop? Why didn't you taint me further, all those years ago?"

He chuckled, loving the look of fear and confusion on her face, "That was merely a test. I was trying out my new weapon, and when I was done, I decided it would be best if I saved you for another time..."

"Another time...?"

"Like now, for instance?" He sneered, speaking carefully, as if to an idiot.

Gloria let her head fall back against the dais, and she let out a deep breath, her heart still racing. She closed her golden eyes, trying to focus on calming down and thinking of a way to escape as he continued his pacing, but nothing came to mind. No, nothing save for the dream she had weeks ago, of the wolves fleeing through a wood inlaid with fog, being trailed slowly by a great wonder beyond, the rise and fall of four great legs...With that image, she felt oddly at peace, despite the presence of the king of fear nearby.

"Now, that won't do at all," his voice came again, and her eyes blinked open as she felt Pitch take hold of the darkness wrapping around her collar bone. Gloria was forced to meet his gaze, and she watched helplessly as he raised his other hand, and cradled her face gently like an old friend, making shivers run down her spine.

He grinned bitterly, and she felt it, a wave of cold, spreading out from his touch and along her skin.

"Time to play again."

Gloria cried out as she felt her canines sharpen further behind her lips, her knuckles cracked, and her nails began to extend. Slowly but surely, the hunger began to take hold just as before, and Gloria began to forget herself.

"No, please, _no_-!" He laughed as she began kicking, trying to hit him and sadly missing.

"Don't!" She screamed pitifully, tears gathering in her eyes. There it was, that child in her, crying in her bed as she whimpered for her father to return to her, and make everything alright.

Suddenly, the world exploded around them. Gloria felt Pitch's hold release her, and he called out in bewilderment as she fell hard to the ground, bruising her legs and sending another jolt of pain into her system. Glo lifted her head, her vision distorting, but she managed to see the clouds of blue, pink, and green that surrounded them.

What was-?

Pitch gave a sudden roar, and she watched breathlessly as a wave of darkness shot out from beneath the dais, heading for the endless ceiling above. There came another shout, but she could hardly identify what had uttered the sound. Webs of darkness still cloaked her, hiding her nakedness from the view of whatever intruders had entered those shadowed halls, but her thoughts were hardly on how she appeared at that moment. Beneath her skin, she felt her bones twisting, growing, and reforming, and she screamed in agony at the feeling, screwing her eyes shut and rasing her head as tears of grief came unbidden to her cheeks. It was just like her dream from before, and there was nothing more that she wanted to do then wake up from that terrible nightmare and be rid of it.

_ Everything hurt so much_.

She heard herself whimper, and as she bent forward, the bones in her back shifting, she could only watch with wide eyes as fur sprouted on her changing limbs, shuddering a breath as her vocal cords changed, and a tail slid away from her spine. In a matter of minutes, everything human within her was smothered beneath a wave of rage, and all of her focus shifted to how so very _famished_ she was.

Half human, half wolf, and completely enraged, Gloria perked up her ears and took in the sounds of battle. Her senses broadened, stronger then ever before, and her vision turned red as she picked up the scent of rabbit fur, warm sand, silken feathers, and sugar.

And then there it was, one last scent to pick up, to breath in and fill her, a mixture of cold, musk, and snowberries.

From the haze of raging darkness, fading smoke, and pure red, Jack Frost walked across the dais, taking in his friend as he held his staff in one hand. With frightened eyes, frightned for what she couldn't tell, he whispered her name into the gloom.

"Glo?"

* * *

**A/N: Big reveals coming in the next two chapters, including further information on the night Gloria died, and her father! **


	19. Cruel Intentions

**A/N: Songs for this chapter include "Heavy in Your Arms", by Florence and the Machine and "Manon Theme," by Akira Kosemura.**

* * *

In a split second the wolf girl was launching herself at Jack, running across the dais on all fours with a terrifying speed, and nearly scraping her deadly claws across his feet as he ascended into the air. Jack flew a few feet above her, but would not leave, nor would he raise his staff and fight. Somewhere in those raging gold eyes that stared at him from below, his Glo was waiting, just waiting for someone to reach in and pull her out again. He intended that someone to be him, no matter what the cost.

"Glo, listen to me! You've got to get a hold of yourself-!" The Guardian was cut off as she suddenly sprung into the air, trying to catch him as he darted out of the way, and missing. The wolf managed to catch itself on one of Pitch's hanging cage. While gripping it's bars with her right hand, the other dangling in the air, and bracing herself against it with one foot balanced on the rim of its floor, and the other against the cage, she swung her eyes to meet Jack's. Gloria opened her maw, her lips parting to reveal rows of wicked teeth, and she let out a bone chilling roar, furious that she had missed her prey.

As Jack watched her prepare to spring at him again, he raised his staff, looking serious. "Sorry 'bout this, Glo, but you're giving me no choice!" Swinging his staff, a blast of frost erupted from its crook. But Gloria's pointed ears trembled, her eyes were suddenly caught up on the Sandy, hovering in the air not but a few feet away, and distracted with watching Pitch. Before the blast could hit her, and effectively freeze her to the bars of the cage, she let go, jumping towards the Sandman.

North looked up from his place on a nearby bridge and called out, giving Sandy enough time to flinch at the sight of the creature coming at him, and fly out of the way. Missing yet another one of the Guardians, Gloria hit the ground hard, forcing her claws to dig into the marble ground and stop her from falling over the edge. Raising her head, she growled menacingly at the only other person on the bride, North himself. North was more than prepared when she began running in his direction, raising herself from the ground and taking to two feet as she drew closer. The wolf brought her claws down, and sparks flew. The old Guardian parried her attacks with ease, his sword flashing in the dim lighting of Pitch's domain, but they were so quick and fierce that he could hardly manage to counter her blows with one of her own.

Yet even if he could, North knew that it would be hard to hurt his dear Wolf Pup.

Gloria had changed, there was no doubt in his mind that she was now a ravaging monster, bent on his and that of the destruction of the other Guardians, but beneath that monster was a little girl. A little girl that had shown up at his door, a lifetime before, trembling, and afraid. Their time together had been too little, he still had so much left to learn of the girl he had come to see as his own granddaughter, blood relation or no.

He couldn't hurt her, and he had to make sure that she didn't wind up hurting herself either.

North met her eyes for a second, and surprisingly her previously wild blows fell into a quick feint, and as he moved to block her, she caught him off guard with a swipe to his chest. North bit back a curse and moved back, her claws ripping through the top layer of his shirt but thankfully not hitting skin. Had he been a lesser swordsmen, North would have been badly wounded ad more than open for a killing blow.

"Sandy!" He called out, his eyes flashing above his attacker, and briefly falling upon the golden man. The Sandman lifted his hands, and from afar, Jack watched with wide eyes as a wave of his sand flew towards the girl. Tendrils shot out and grabbed at limbs, stopping her vicious onslaught and pulling her away from North. The girl bucked and bit at the air, flinging curses every which way in the only language she knew how. The sand wrapped around her, pinning her limbs to her side. But as much as the Sandman tried to hold her down, he discovered that he had vastly underestimated her brute strength, and the elder Guardians could only watch as the sand began to weaken, holes showing up where she pushed at it the most.

Jack Frost took this as his queue to step in, and after going in closer, he waved his staff. This time his attack hit home, and suddenly the golden sand that encased the wolf's torso and limbs was quickly being covered with a thick blanket of ice.

The wolf girl snapped at the air, but her efforts to escape and hurt were useless: she was trapped.

With a pained sigh, Jack drifted down to the bridge and stopped a few feet away from her, using his staff with both hands to hold him up. The fight with the girl had lasted mere minutes, and yet he felt exhausted after just looking at her. As North stepped up to the girl, she squirmed, still trying to reach him and at least chew off a leg. North didn't falter, but only watched her with down cast eyes.

Had Gloria been any other normal shapeshifter, he could have perhaps found a way of forcing her to change back into her original form with a bit of magic on his part, but Gloria was no normal girl. The powers that the Man on the Moon had so chosen to grace her with were still very foreign to him, and up until the point the Guardians had entered Pitch's domain and he had first lain eyes on her after her change, he had never seen it before. It was a wild thing, basing its actions on pure instinct, and using her human intellect to move about in a relatively thought based manner. If she were free, if her had not evaded her blow from before just in time...Gloria would never forgive herself, and her human side would surely be lost.

"Gloria..." At the sound of the boy's voice, North looked up and saw the fear in his eyes. North felt a stab of regret at Jack having to see his friend the way that she was then, but as he began to slowly step forward and confidence gathered in his eyes, it was confirmed to him that Jack was more afraid of losing his friend then keeping himself safe.

"Jack, stay away." The old man warned, not wanting anyone to further risk injury until they could properly grasp the situation.

Jack's head shot up, and he gave North a cold glare in response, "I'm not going to just stand idly by and let herself tear herself apart like this! She's my best friend-!"

There came a sharp sound, and Jack broke his glare, instead turning with the old man and looking towards a landing nearby.

While Sandy, North, and Jack had become distracted with dealing with Gloria, Toothiana and Bunnymund had taken the liberty of finishing the fight with Pitch. The battle with the Nightmare King had been rather short, disappointingly enough for 'Mund, who just wanted to throttle the daylights out of him for daring to fight back after losing to the Guardians only a few months prior. Pitch was weak, his shadows mostly lacking and mostly concerned with tainting the heart of the wolf girl, and it didn't take long before Bunnymund had him to his knees, his hands held behind his back by the Guardian of Hope, while the Guardian of Memories had leveled her swords at his exposed neck.

Tooth narrowed her eyes at the King as he let out another laugh, his mouth curling in humor at what the winter spirit had said.

"Best friend? Such foolishness, you never cease to amaze me, boy!" He chuckled again, seeming to not care about the death looming before his eyes if he dared make any false moves.

"Gloria is lost. Lost to the darkness she so greedily took from me," he went on, looking delighted, yet insane. "She's no different than her father in that regard. A selfish, ignorant DEMON, devoid of kindness or even a pinch of intelligence. She's lost herself to her base instincts, just as she was destined to since the day she was born."

Bunnymund scoffed, glowering at his obviously helpless captive. "Demon? The only demon around here is you, Pitch!"

The King rolled his eyes, unperturbed, "Really? Now, why don't you ask our dear Gloria if my words have some merit, hm?"

Jack and the others looked back towards the restrained wolf, and they each noticed for the first time how still she had become. Rather than continuing her struggle to escape and fight, the wolf was lying on her back...and beginning to look very human.

Jack immediately went to her side, allowing his ice to subside and melt from her form, although Sandy hesitated until North had joined the two. Removing his thick, red coat from his shoulders, North draped it over her small form, allowing the Sandman to withdrawal his sand without an inch of Gloria's naked flesh to be shown. Hardly noticing as his staff clattered to the marble behind him, Jack dropped beside her shoulders and gently lifted her onto his lap to stare into her dazed eyes.

"Glo, what's wrong?" He asked, cradling one side of her face with one hand, and tucking away lock of her brown hair gently, a simply act of affection that held something deeper behind it.

Gloria blinked, she breathed out quietly as her eyes danced in thought. She could see it, those great legs walking slowly through the forest, holding so much wonder. Seeing it again, and hearing Pitch's words over and over in her head, she couldn't help the tears that began to gather in her eyes.

When she had first been reunited with her memories, she had been so caught up in the events of her death, and the turmoil of her emotions that had followed to properly go over and sort through them once more. But she was remembering then. Her father, with his grizzled cheeks, holding her in his thick arms before the fireplace in her home, his golden eyes staring down at her and containing a warmth she had been stranger to for hundreds of years. Then there was Char, the wolf pup that her father had brought home one day. He had claimed that it had been abandoned, but by what pack, exactly? Wolves were a scarcity, despite the time. Wild things that dared not tamper with the lives of mortals unless absolutely necessary. Her father ad always had a way of interacting with Char that she could never understand, but joking about him being a "wolf whisperer" had been nothing more than that at the time, a mere joke.

Gloria had always sworn that her powers had come from the Man on the Moon, and after remembering how Char had fought to protect her, surely his death had something to do with it? But no, that wasn't right, and she knew it wasn't, not as she thought of what Pitch said, over and over again.

"Jack?" Her voice cracked, thick from the tears held in her eyes. Jack leaned over her, not liking the hopelessness in her eyes.

"He's right...he's right, my father he, he was...and that means I really am-."

"Glo, you could never be a monster. I _know_ you remember? I know you!" He tried to smile, tried to reassure her with his latent confidence and his typical boyish smirk, which was sadly failing then at the sight of his friend looking so broken.

"I can feel it, Jack. Not just Pitch's darkness, but _it_, inside me. It _hurts_, Jack," her voice trembled, and a flash of pain ran across her face, making her friend flinch. "It _hurts_ so much."

"Glo..." Jack brought her close, tucking his chin against her shoulder, wanting to stop her from shaking, but not knowing how.

"I don't want to hurt you, Jack."

This whisper of words in his ears brought his thoughts to a standstill. Gloria was in so much pain, she was so very afraid, and yet she was still worried about hurting him, just like in her cottage. She had been alone, for weeks, fighting by herself in the dark, not reaching out to anyone for help, all for fear of them seeing what she had become, and hurting them in the process. All that time she had remained so selfless, his Glo, who he had been separated from for so long.

North noticed when Jack's shoulders stiffened, and then he was standing up, with Gloria cradled in his arms. Pitch watched on, smirking at his display until he turned about. The look on his face was so set, so determined, that for a moment the Nightmare King began to feel an inkling of fear.

"Bring him to me."

Toothiana and Bunnymund had the King across the dais and onto the bridge in a matter of seconds. Roughly shoved before the cold spirit, Pitch muttered a few dark words before he again met Jack's eyes. Jack had one plan in mind, the only idea that he had that could possibly help Gloria's suffering disappate, and he had a feeling that only Pitch could help him achieve it.

"Pitch, where is he?" He said, his words and his very gaze each having an certain edge to them as he spoke down to the King. "Where's Gloria's father?"

* * *

**A/N: Just one more chapter to go and all shall be revealed! **


	20. Tainted

**A/N: Here it is guys! This final chapter took me a few days to type up, but I'm hope that your'e happy with the results! Songs: "Nuvole Bianche," by Ludovico Einaudi, "Time to Run (Finale)," by Dextar Britan, and, of course, "Welcome Home", by Radical Face**!

* * *

Pitch was more cooperative then the Guardians thought he would be. Soon after being asked about the whereabouts of Gloria's illusive father, he smoothly gave up what he claimed to be the "demon's domain". Using one of North's trusty snow globes, it was easy enough to lock onto the desired location quickly enough.  
But the moment the portal through space burst open, and they gazed into the world beyond, Bunnymund tensed up.

His whiskers trembling slightly, he turned to Jack and the half conscious Gloria in his arms, and lightly bowed his head, "I'm sorry mate, but you're going to have to go on without me."

A stubborn look instantly crossed the winter spirits face, both confused and agitated that his rival and comrade would step out of helping the wolf-girl so suddenly, "What's the deal? Glo needs us!"

'Mund straightened up, but continued to look nonetheless weary about the place beyond, "It doesn't feel right, Jack. There's something there that's makin' my whiskers twitch. I'm afraid that I won't be much help there."

"He's right, Jack."

The other's looked up, surprised that Toothiana had spoken up, and in Bunnymund's favor, "Gloria's our friend, but there are some places where spirits like us should't tread..." She looked wistful, but her words just confused him all the more. A flurry of shapes appeared above Sandy's head, and North nodded in his direction, agreeing with him about something Jack couldn't quite pick up.

"Jack, in world there exist things as old as time itself, creatures of great power that should not be meddled with." Frowning, North glanced over Gloria's pale face. As he watched her, a grimace of pain crossed her face, and he felt regret bubble up inside him. He wanted to help his Wolf Pup find her father, but everything in his bones was telling him not to step through that portal, "Maybe it is best that we find other way."

But Jack's mind could not be changed. For him, finding her apparently very alive father, possibly the only person that could help Gloria at that point, was the only option, "I'll take her myself."

Jack turned towards the portal, his shoulders set, and more then ready to step right in. A slight sound from behind him made him tense up for only a moment, but he resisted the urge to swing around and deck Pitch in the face.

Still chuckling to himself, Pitch muttered under his breath, "Foolish boy..." They all watched as Jack left them, the portal sealing shut behind his retreating back.

Bunnymund let out a sigh, gritting his teeth, "He has an hour, then we go in and get him." The others were surprised at this, given that he had been the first to speak up against it, but he easily brushed it off. "But I'm going to throttle him when we get back to the Workshop."

* * *

The name, "The Misty Veil", was an appropriate name, to say the least.

The world beyond was a foggy place, in lain with am odd mist that made the winter spirit's hair stand on end. As he looked about the stark whiteness, he could have sworn that he made out the shapes of several somethings looming in the haze. Gloria shifted in his arms, giving him cause to look down and glance over her pale face.

Her eyes were closed, but flickered gently, as if she were in a dream. Sometime during their short transition to that mysterious place, she had fallen unconscious, although from pain or sleepiness he couldn't tell.

"Hang on, Glo," he whispered to her, before looking up.  
Taking a step directly forward, he was surprised by the crackling sounds that came from beneath his bare feet. Looking down he could see the shapes of fallen leaves, and he could feel the slight tickle of grass between them.

Walking forward, he passed one of the tall shapes half hidden around him, and realized that it was a tree, they all had to be, and given the leaves underfoot, he had reason to guess that they were in a forest. A forest blanked in fog.

* * *

So Jack walked. With no sense of direction, and no idea as to where he would find who he was looking for, he could only hope that he would run into him on his own time. It made him feel useless, but that's all he had by way of plans, and he had left his staff behind, the conduit for his powers.

Being in that forest baffled his senses. The time of day never seemed to change, and the forest stretched on and on, never changing, making it seem as though he were in an entirely different world. Jack sort of understood why Bunnymund and the others were so reluctant to go there, the place was unsettling...

There came a sound from his arms, and his blue eyes found Gloria again, taking in her then feverish expression. Jack wasn't what was keeping the girl from changing again, but he had some idea that it had to do with her own will to hold it back. It had to be hurting her.

Stopping for a moment, he squatted down and placed her on the ground, propping up her head and torso against his legs. Holding her with one hand, Jack checked her forehead with the other, and his eyebrows shot up. She didn't just look feverish, she had one, and his natural cold wasn't doing any good. He bit back a curse, remembering that she had her own natural source of warmth, and that it wasn't helping at all then. Closing his eyes, Jack did the only thing he could think of, and placed his forehead to hers. Focusing his power, he concentrated on trying to cool her off, natural warmth be damned. As he did so, frost began to spread out from underneath him, coating leaves, grass, and twigs, and then eventually the nearest trees around him. Jack put all of his will into making her temperature go down, but her skin seemed just as warm against his with each passing minute.

Cursing to himself, he failed to notice the sharp sound of frozen leaves snapping behind him.

Jack blinked open his eyes, his brow furrowing as he finally picked up the sound. It stopped abruptly, as if picking up that he had noticed, and he tensed up.

Slowly, standing up on his two feet and taking Gloria again in his arms, he turned to face whatever it was behind him.

Jack let out a sound of shock, involuntarily backing away until he hit his back against one of the trees, jostling the girl he held.

* * *

Gloria slowly became aware of her existence again. She was tired, pain thrumming through he veins with the beating of her heart, and she felt as though her skin was on fire. Wanting to do nothing more then go back to sleep, she hesitated when she picked up the rhythm beating steadily beside her, outside of her, and she opened her eyes again. She saw a wall of blue, someones chest, and that someone was Jack, looking white faced with his wide eyes. Concerned by her friends behavior, she flared her nostrils.

There came something, in the wind, something that made her breath hitch and her lips part.

That smell, that scent, it was impossibly familiar. It brought with it flashes of a memory, a memory where she found herself waking up in bed, watching through the darkness of her family's cottage as he walked out of her life forever.

The word slipped naturally from her lips, sounding hoarse and frail: "Father?"

The great wolf blinked it's eyes, silent, and magnificent. He was gigantic, easily more then ten or so feet tall, with fur a rich white in color, and a golden gaze that would match her own, only it was full of so much calm, while hers was brimming with the power of an oncoming storm.

Suddenly struggling in Jack's arms, she didn't say anything as he protested at her trying to break free, but merely sat her down gently. The god-wolf watched on as he helped her stand, easily looping an arm under her shoulders, and looking at her with a concerned expression. But Gloria only had eyes for her father, and as Jack's swung his eyes back over to face him, their icy hues hardened. If this was really the man she said he was, then the lack of trust came natural, and not just because he had taken the form of a giant predator.

Still, Jack complied with Glo's silent wishes, and helped her stagger closer towards him. She lifted one frail hand, begin to tremble but ever stubborn, and as it hung there for a moment in the air, Jack wondered if the man would even bother properly acknowledging him.

But then the tip of his black nose was lowered, and as it's cold skin met her warm hand, tears sprang into her eyes and she felt all of her strength leave her. Cut off guard, Jack tried to catch her, but all the weariness of fighting off her other half, and discovering what she was weighed down heavily on her shoulders. With the added edition of seeing her long lost father before her, it felt as though the world had been placed upon her, and nothing could stop her from falling to her knees.

Falling to the ground beside her, Jack held her cheek and met her gaze. The look of utmost worry she saw reflected back at her filled her with regret, and she tried to muster up an apology, but he just waved it off, giving her a gentle smile, all boyishness gone given the current situation.

There came the sound of leaves being crushed, and both of them looked up at automatically.

Where once the wolf stood, a man had taken his place, a man that keeled before them, and looked at the boy and his daughter with an entire universe's worth of sorrow and wisdom swirling in his eyes. This man lifted his hand, causing Jack to hold Gloria slightly closer to him without thinking as he watched him with a tightened jaw. Gloria felt the man's large hand fall upon the top of her head, and she closed her eyes out of reflex, feeling slightly agitated. This feeling surprised her, coming without warning from her distant past.

He would do that, he father. He would muss up her hair and laugh at how annoyed she would get. She opened her eyes just in time to see a ghost of smile flit across her face, one that was incomparable to the one in her memories, but it was something.

* * *

He told them everything.

Once upon a time, Gloria's father had been revered as a god.

For her father was a spirit, a man capable of taking wolf or human form that had lived for many centuries before hand. He had been looked up to by humans in more then one generation of families, and in exchange for leading the wild wolves of the world away from the livestock of villages he was given offerings of thanks.

When he had entered the tiny Burgess for the first time, he had thought about doing the same there, but the world was growing tired of pagan gods, and it wasn't long before he met her mother, Alice. The god-wolf had quickly fallen in love with the woman's stubbornness, and her kind heart, and he decided to be reckless and forego his duties to spend a sliver of his life with her, raising a family.

They built their family home out of wood, hay and stone, and Alice went to the alter with a full belly. A month later, Gloria was born, and much to his relief, she showed no outward signs of having any of his spiritual abilities, at least not as long as she was human. But with his blood in her veins, it was possible that beyond death she could rise again, as something different, as a spirit.

But that didn't stop him from worrying, from thinking that sooner or later his old life would catch up with him, and he wouldn't be able to stop it.

After Jacob was born, named for Alice's late grandfather, and a year or so passed, he left their home for a night. When morning came, he returned with a wiggling ball of fluff, a gift from one of the wolf mother's to the god, and so his little family had a protector for when he would finally leave.

Leaving his family in the night was by far the hardest thing he had done in his eternal life.

Alice had thought it best that the children sleep while he made his leave. He had never told his wife of what he was, or why he had to leave, but dear Alice understood that something was wrong, and accepted it as it was. He loved her, he loved her with all of his heart, and to protect her, and their children, he had to leave.

His bestial nature was catching up with him, he was afraid in his own way of hurting the ones he loved, but he was also afraid of those who would come if they discovered that he had loved ones.

He was a pagan god after all, people fear what they don't understand, and he had made more then one enemy in his lifetime.

One of those enemies happened to be Pitch Black, the Nightmare King.

This revelation startled the immortal teenagers, who looked at the god-wolf with wide eyes. Jack still held Gloria close, but he had become less paranoid of the main since the beginning of his tale, although he was by far not ready to let her go.

Gloria's father had enraged Pitch, filling the hearts of villagers and protecting them from his fear during a dark time when all they had to hang onto was their own dwindling hope. After months of going back and forth, they had a final vicious battle, and Pitch fell, but he chose to spare him, if only for the sake of the good in his own heart, a goodness that could never be suffocated by any amount of the King's darkness. Defeated, ashamed, but angry, Pitch left him.

Pitch Black learned of his family of Burgess.

And he discovered to late that they had been taken from him forever, beyond the realm of life, where not even a so called demon like himself could tread.

Pitch went a step further, and erased Gloria's memory from existence, shrouding the minds of every person still living that had known her with darkness. Her father knew not why he bothered with such a thing, for she was hardly among the living any more, but then it clicked.

Upon discovering his family's existence, and that of little Glo's he had felt within her a great power, one that would grow after death, when she no longer had a human shell holding her back.

Knowing that she had been forgotten would make her weak, it would hurt her, for she was still just a child, and thus make it easier to fully corrupt her.

Pitch had tried his hand at changing her into her other form years before, when she knew not herself and was still very timid about the second life she had been given, but he decided to save her as his own secret weapon until he needed her, and she was full of doubt, and sadness.

The time came when she rediscovered her past, and saw again before her very eyes her home burning, and her family being slain. Yes, Jacob lived, but he went to his grave not knowing the face or name of his dear older sister. As Gloria slept in her bed, Pitch reached into her heart and took hold, using her for his own whims once again.

Gloria killed helpless animals while lost in her nature, but she truly broke when she nearly stuck down the little girl she had saved, and her dearest friend in the world: Jack Frost.

She was at her most vulnerable point, and it was easy to take hold of her, and taint her further.

As he finished his tale, Gloria held one hand to her heart, feeling a mass of anger and hunger still swirling within her. The darkness was still very much there, despite Pitch's absence, it was not like before when he had first played with her nature.

"The taint is still there, my girl, and it may never leave you," her father looked into her eyes, unwavering but apologetic.

"What can we do?" Jack spoke up for the first time, inviting the man's gaze to meet his own. "There has to be away that we can stop it!"

For a moment the man was silent, but then his eyes took them both in, and Jack's felt equal parts worry and hope flare up within him.

"There is a way. I can use my own power to reach within her and quell her bestial nature. It will be locked away, that darkness, but not altogether gone. Once, I could have vanquished it, but I have grown old, and am not longer the god that people once revered in ancient times. My abilities have since weakened with their deadened faith." The man lifted his hand and pressed it to her chest, just below her collar one, "But I'm just strong enough to do this much."

He closed his eyes, Gloria's following, and Jack watched as the god-wolf used his magic.

Gloria immediately felt the darkness within her rear back its ugly head and try to strike back with full force, but something over came it, something powerful that made her feel light. A warmth spread throughout her body, one so like her own, and it slowly enveloped the darkness, stifling it. Gloria sucked in a breath, feeling a twinge of pain as the taint tried one last time to fight back, but Gloria's father was quicker, and his eyes snapped open with a ferocity as he fought back.

Finally, it subsided, falling into a dull ache before disappearing. Gloria's eyes opened slowly, and she saw Jack staring at her anxiously. Testing the waters, Gloria probed for it's existence, but found it lacking, allowing a smile to spread across her face. Jack mirrored her delight, hugging her in his excitement and laughing in relief.

Gloria started to laugh, but there came a sound of someone clearing their throat, and Jack looked up, melting a little at the glowering look her father was giving him.

"God or no, that's still my daughter your'e holding." The protectiveness in his voice was so characteristically human to her that Gloria couldn't help but the giggle that worked it's way out of her, and Jack gave her an uneasy look, as if asking for help.

But her father's face soon softened, although he never stopped noticing the way the boy held his daughter, and the three of them stood up. Gloria was still weak from the battle previously fought with the Guardians and her own self, so she had to steady herself with Jack.

Gloria had a feeling that their time in the Misty Veil was ending, so she turned to her father and half stumbled into his arms with a gusto. Wide eyed with surprise for a moment, the god-wolf held his daughter, granting her a loving and warm embrace that lifted her from the ground and filled her with childish glee: he was so tall!

Sitting his daughter back down and handing her back over with Jack, he looked away from them, seeing something beyond them that they could not. With a flick of his wrist, a portal through space tore open beside him, startling the teenagers, who looked at him in confusion. Weak power? What was that, exactly?

Reading their expressions with ease, the man cocked his head in faint amusement, "This forest has a power of it's own, you'll soon discover."

Gloria and Jack shared a look but just decided to nod and accept it: they still had a lot to learn about magic and the world, it seemed.

"Take care, daughter," the man spoke, his voice filled with a familial warmth one wouldn't expect in someone reeking in mystery and ancient magic.

Gloria nodded back in response, tears gathering in her eyes, "Will I be able to find you again?"

"I will always be here, in the Veil, for reasons I cannot disclose as of now, but I'll always be connected to you, Gloria, and you'll always be welcome here in my wood."

These parting words were enough for the girl, and she felt happy knowing them. Before she could hesitate any further, she smiled and nodded to her friend, and they prepared to leave.

"Oh, and boy."

Jack stiffened.

"Look after my little girl."

* * *

When the two reappeared on the other side of the wormhole, and in Pitch's domain once more, it only took Bunnymund a split second to look at Jack and take in his expression.

"What happened, mate? You look like you've seen a ghost." He asked, and Gloria began to laugh, surprising them all.

"He met my dad!"

"And?" They all drew near, Toothiana hovering close to Pitch, who was still on his knees, and oddly silent.

"I think he thinks that we're dating, or something," she explained, shooting Jack an amused look. He looked down at her, white faced with his wide eyes, and devoid of any of his usual mischievous charm as he had his inner panic attack.

The other's immediately burst into laughter, despite their circumstances and where they were standing.

North took in Gloria's glowing cheeks, curiosity getting the best of him, "What happened? You were gone for only few seconds!"

At this Jack's shock faded and he gave the old man a confused expression, "A few seconds? We were lost in there for at least an hour! It took Glo's dad to explain everything longer then a few seconds!"

"But what North is saying is true; you guy's were hardly gone," Tooth spoke up, his wings fluttering behind her as she stayed aloft in the air close by the fallen king.

Jack's brow furred, and as they both remembered what her father had said after tearing open a portal back to Pitch's lair, she answered for him, "Dad said that the Veil had powers of it's own."

Mulling over this, North merely nodded, deciding that such things were better left unexplained.

"So, what do we do about Pitch?" Bunnymund spoke up, casting a glare towards their captive. The King looked up, appearing unperturbed by this, but as Gloria's eyes landed on him once again, her jaw tightened. For the first time since her father had locked away the darkness, she felt it rise up in her. Jack saw the dimming of her usually molten gold eyes, and he reached out, holding her hand in his. Feeling his hand in hers, she felt it die down a bit, becoming nothing more then a dull hum.

"I say we lock up the bugger and keep an eye on him, at the very least," 'Mund said civilly, although it appeared that he was more then ready to inflict a harsher punishment at that point. The Guardian of Hope was more then tired of dealing with terrible crimes.

"Wolf Pup, it is up to you. Only you can decide what would we should do for the harm he inflicted on your family," North said carefully, and thus all eyes were on her.

Honestly there was nothing more in the world that the wolf-girl wanted to do then see pay back for what he had done. Although he had not been the one to kill her mother, he had given away the whereabouts of her family to those who would, and he had tried to wipe her mortal existence off the face of the earth. But as much as she wanted to strangle the man, it wouldn't be right.

"I would be no different then him if I tried to have my revenge," she began, earning a question mark of sand from the Sandman. "Just let him go."

"What?" The others shouted, completely stunned.

She looked between them, trying to muster up a smile and failing, "My dad did the same before, I think he would hope and expect me to try, myself. Besides..he's as his weakest...and I don't want to be like Pitch." She eyed the Nightmare King. The King frowned in return, not exactly bursting for joy at her unexpected sign of mercy.

Toothiana lowered her blade, and North gave a happy grin, falling back into his usual jolly self, "Time to go home!" Pulling open his jacket, he removed a snow globe and blew into it's glass, causing an image of his workshop to appear within. With a quick toss, the glass shattered and a portal flew open. Casting a dark glance at the King, Bunnymund was the first to jump in, more then ready to return to his far less dismal warren. Toothiana and Sandman followed, the latter giving Gloria a thumbs up and a wink: apparently he had been happy at he decision.

Done with the King herself, Gloria started to pull Jack over towards the portal, but he spoke up, halting her, "One sec'." Letting go of her hand, he walked over to the King. After knotting one hand he brought up a fist-and promptly hit the kind square in the jaw, causing him to fall back against the bridge with a thud. Watching from the sidelines, Gloria held back a snort of laughter, staring at the spirit with wide eyes as he rejoined her, weaving his fingers with hers. "Alright, let's go!" Greeting Glo with his usual grin, it was his turn to pull her along, and they quickly stepped through the portal.

Before North could step in himself, Pitch spoke up. Nursing his throbbing jaw, he looked sideways at the Guardian, barely managing to hold himself up from the ground, "This isn't over. As long as the girl remains tainted, she is a danger to you all."

Feeling grim, North still managed to smile and shrug in response, "So be it. Wolf Pup has friends, friends that will not so readily give up on her. She is not alone in fight." And he stepped through, the portal shutting behind her, and leaving Pitch completely by himself, with only his shadows for company.

* * *

Several days passed, and after managing to get away from North's healing methods, which involved a ton of sleep and the eating of cookies, Gloria was home.

As the wolf girl stepped in front of her little cottage, she closed her eyes and breathed in the scents of the wood. With the smells of animals, pine, and dirt filling her up, Glo smiled warmly to herself, and allowed her eyes to open. There came the sounds of someone walking across grass, and Glo turned her head as Jack went up to meet her.

Balancing his staff on his shoulders with both arms, he approached her with a boyish smirk, "Happy to be home?"

"You have no idea," she replied, earning a chuckle from him at the relived tone in her voice, and swinging his staff gracefully to one hand, he held her own vacant hand with the other.

Ever since the battle, Jack had taken to reaching out for her and holding her hand in his. Throughout their stay at the workshop, he had never left her side, going so far as to hang out in her room during the first thirteen hours or so she spent unconscious in bed, dead to the world.

Gloria would be totally lying to herself if she said that his closeness didn't make her as light headed and giggly as it did the first time she had started crushing on him back in Burgess, three hundred or so years ago, but there was no way that she would tell him that: Jack was full enough of himself as is!

"Hungry? I'm going to start up a pot of stew for dinner."

Jack gave her a wide smile. Although he could go ages without having a single bite, he had learned fairly quickly the first time that she made him dinner that her food was more then worth a stomach ache, "I'm starved!"

Laughing as they neared the cottage, a blush spread out on Glo's face, and she looked away from him, "Oh, but we have to clean up a bit first, considering..."

Jack groaned, breaking away from her hand and hurrying ahead toward the front door, still wearing his grin despite himself, "But Glooooo!"

The wolf-girl laughed and rolled her eyes, but didn't give in. Cleaning up her rampage through her home was going to be a pain!

As Jack opened the front door and dunked inside, talking avidly aloud to his best friend, Gloria held herself in the doorway. With one hand on the door, she turned and looked outside, gazing into the forest and allowing a frown to make it's way on to her face.

Although he darker half was locked away, silent and brooding, Gloria was still very aware of it's existence. She wasn't sure how long it's binding would last, or how she would ever come up with a way of wiping away the taint for good, and honestly that truth scared her. When the next time it appeared, she wasn't sure of she could hold it back, and stop it from hurting her, and those she loved. If anything, it was possible that she would loose herself to the darkness in the end, and it would be up to her friends to stop her...for good.

Glo's grip on the door tightened, and she swallowed hard, not liking the thought at all. But then came the sound of Jack's voice again, and she looked inside. A smile automatically unfurled on her face at the sight of the grinning boy with feathers already tangled in his ever stylish hair. Closing the door behind her, Gloria's eyes flashed, and she stifled the dark thoughts in her head.

For a little while, she wanted to forget about what had happened, and just enjoy her remaining time with her long, lost friend: Jack Frost.

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to think every single awesome person that took the time to read, review, follow, and even favorite "Bad Wolf!" You guys are so amazing! If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have written so much, nor would I have loved writing this story as much as I did! A million times more, thank you all!**

**Anywho, ideas for a possible continuation are already swirling around in my head, but I also have more story ideas for ROTG. Whatever the case, it'll be a while before I'm confident to post anything new, although anything more that I contribute to the fandom will definitely include more of the other Guardians, not to mention romance on the part of Jack and Glo, or whatever new character I decide to introduce. **

**If you guys were at all confused by this chapter or the rest of the story, no worries, as it shall be rewritten someday, and I'll make sure that any wrinkles that pop up are disposed of. **

**Thanks again for reading!**


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